Rear Admiral becomes household name in Portugal as head of Covid vaccine drive

Rear Admiral Henrique Gouveia e Melo shares a joke with a military nurse during a visit to a vaccination centre in Lisbon. Picture: Armando Franca/AP

As Portugal closes in on its goal of fully vaccinating 85% of the population against Covid-19 in nine months, a senior military officer is getting a lot of credit for how it was accomplished.

Rear Admiral Henrique Gouveia e Melo has presided over the campaign which is close to meeting its target.