Operative board: 5 vaccines available in Hungary with Sinopharm delivery
Hungary targets 70 percent vaccination rate by June
Achieving this target would give Hungary one of the highest vaccination rates in the European Union, allowing it to lift restrictions and reopen its economy earlier than other countries, justice ministry state secretary Pal Volner said in a parliamentary debate on extending the special legal order introduced to contain the spread of the coronavirus.
Hungary’s use of the Chinese and Russian Covid vaccines will allow it to vaccinate 3.5 million more people by the end of May than if it relied solely on jabs procured by Brussels, Volner said.
Citing expert opinions, the state secretary said virus restrictions should remain in place for the time being, but expressed hope that they could be eased in the foreseeable future.
5 vaccines available in Hungary with Sinopharm delivery
The first shipment of vaccines from China has arrived, so five vaccines are now available in Hungary, according to a Hungarian health authority official.
The 550,000 doses of vaccine received on Tuesday are enough to vaccinate 275,000 people, Agnes Galgoczi, the head of the epidemiology department of the National Public Health Centre (NNK), told an online briefing of the operative board responsible for containing the coronavirus epidemic.
Vaccinations using the Sinopharm jab will be available once NNK has tested and authorised it for general use.
The Sinopharm jabs will be administered by general practitioners, Galgoczi said.
Hungary this week is also receiving 102,960 doses of the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine in two shipments on Tuesday and Wednesday.
She noted that people in the oldest age group will receive the Pfizer and Sputnik V shots at the various vaccination points, while those under the age of 60 with underlying illnesses will be administered the AstraZeneca vaccine.
Teams are also returning to several nursing homes, while second-round jabs of health workers will continue, she added.
Galgoczi encouraged the public to get inoculated and asked them to only turn to reliable sources when seeking out information on the vaccines.
