"Look, this was my first card," said Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa to a boy who was waiting to receive proof of vaccination against SARS-CoV-2, at Centro Cultural Paz Flor.
It is the first card of the President of the Republic since, however, he received another one that certifies that he has the third dose of reinforcement. However, in Angola the issue is different.
According to Angolan authorities, there are five million people who have missed the administration of the second dose and, therefore, have an incomplete process and weak immunity.
Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa took advantage of the two-day visit to the Angolan capital to encourage vaccination and even presented the recipe to fight the pandemic: "Insist, insist, insist. Vaccinate, vaccinate, vaccinate".
"This pandemic is still out there," he told a group of people who were waiting for their turn in this center filled with chandeliers, reminiscent of the parties it would once host.
And as he walked through this cultural center converted into a vaccination unit, he presented the card as proof that he was already vaccinated and that the vaccines only had benefits. There was even an opportunity to compare cards.
"Mine is like that, it's white, and yours?", he asked a man who presented the Portuguese President with a green card, already filled in, proving that he was also part of the "lot of immunized people".
He waved one way, then the other, and halfway through he was taking the vaccination card out of his blazer pocket to show it to people who were going to be vaccinated. It is irrefutable proof from Marcelo that there is a way to defeat the pandemic.
Despite the high number of people who have not completed vaccination, the situation in Angola is better than in neighboring countries.
Since the beginning of the pandemic, the Angolan state has privileged the implementation of strict restrictions to mitigate contagion. But vaccination is also an effective weapon.
"Prevention is better than cure and prevention is vaccinating, sooner rather than later. It is because of examples like yours that Angola is in a better situation than other African countries and many countries around the world", maintained Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa.
And as he went through the entire vaccination process in Portugal, he decided to share the experience with newcomers. He approached a guy and asked if he could watch the moment.
"It's now, isn't it? I've already been vaccinated, I've had this experience too, it's the simplest thing in the world," he said.
The vaccine has been administered and "is done". The Portuguese President's prognosis is that there may be a slight pain in the arm the next day.
Despite having captured all the attention, the vaccination continued, but everything stopped to hear Portugal's commitment to the Angolan vaccination process.
More than three million vaccines was the number appointed by the President that the Portuguese State will send to the "brother country", so that it can control the pandemic as quickly as possible.
There were no 'selfies' or hugs this time, the pandemic does not allow it, but cell phones were everywhere to 'catch' the Portuguese President winding his way through this vaccination centre.
