Introduction/Objective: Pandemic of COVID-19 is a major public health problem. At the time of development of this study, no specific medication/vaccine for this disease was approved. Therefore, preventive measures were the main key to control this pandemic. Health literacy (HL) is the ability to obtain, understand and use the information to make free and informed decisions about the health of an individual and to promote community empowerment. Thus, the HL of COVID-19 is important for community empowerment and the adoption of preventive measures. This article aims to understand possible predictors of HL of COVID-19, functional domain.Material and Methods: A cross-sectional study was designed, applying the Questionnaire of COVID-19 (previously designed and submitted to a preliminary pilot testing) through an online platform from April 23 to June 23, 2020. An Index of Health Knowledge of COVID-19 Questionnaire (IHK-COV19) was constructed. Associations between independent variables (“Gender,” “Age,” “Education,” and “Risk Factor” for COVID-19 codified by ICPC-2) and HL were assessed using multivariate analyses (mixed effects models). The level of significance was set at p < 0.05.Results: Our sample includes 864 subjects (median age, 44.33 years), mostly women (n = 619; 71.76%), undergraduate (n = 392; 45.37%) and with at least one risk factor for COVID-19 (n = 266; 30.79%). Univariate and multivariate analyses demonstrated “Age” as a negative predictor of IHK-COV19 and “Education” and “Risk Factor” as positive predictors of IHK-COV19.Conclusions: Health knowledge regarding COVID-19 is associated with the level of education. Future interventions should consider including HL mechanisms in interventions designed to improve communication.

<b><i>Background:</i></b> COVID-19 is a respiratory disease transmitted through respiratory droplets and has a high transmission rate. There is still no effective and approved antiretroviral treatment or vaccine, so preventative measures remain the key to contain this pandemic. Portugal is now in phase 3.2 of the mitigation of COVID-19, with it being imperative to understand the health literacy of our country and prevent a lack of information through community empowerment. <b><i>Material and Methods:</i></b> A cross-sectional study with a sample from a primary care facility was conducted. We collected demographic and epidemiological data and carried out a questionnaire by phone call. Descriptive statistics and nonparametric tests were used to assess associations between the independent variables and the level of health literacy. The level of significance was set at <i>p</i> &#x3c; 0.05. <b><i>Results:</i></b> Our sample included 222 subjects (median age 62 years), mostly females (<i>n</i> = 131), undergraduates (<i>n</i> = 193), and with at least 1 risk factor for COVID-19 (<i>n</i> = 144). Overall, younger individuals, females, graduates and the nonrisk group appeared to have higher levels of health literacy, with some exceptions. <b><i>Conclusions:</i></b> We observed a well-informed population. However, it being a pandemic situation, our intention was to identify and correct outliers/misconceptions. This work allowed a perspective of the current state/pattern of health literacy as well as its possible predictors. Furthermore, it raised awareness of the relevance of specific communication approaches. Further studies to understand the predictors of health literacy are necessary.

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