“It is a mistake to create artificial doubt in people because it reduces their willingness to be vaccinated,” the pharmacologist said.Continue reading
Now that Hungary has plenty of coronavirus vaccines at its disposal, it has made vaccination available for foreign diplomats and embassy employees working in Hungary, chief medical officer Cecília Müller announced on Wednesday.
During the operative board’s coronavirus press briefing, Cecília Müller said that following the principle of reciprocity, Hungary will ensure vaccination is available for all diplomats working in Hungary.
The chief medical officer said that new shipments of vaccines are arriving in Hungary constantly. Last Saturday 600,000 doses of the Chinese Sinopharm vaccine arrived, while 38,400 Moderna doses arrived on Monday, and 355,680 Pfizer, 19,200 AstraZeneca, 480,000 Sputnik V, and 24,000 Janssen doses arrived on Tuesday.
Another 400,000 Sinopharm and 44,400 Moderna doses are expected for Thursday, and 324,000 AstraZeneca doses are expected for Friday, Müller said.
Minister of the Prime Minister’s Office Gergely Gulyás stated during Thursday’s government press conference that Hungary began inoculating Russian, American, British, and Chinese diplomats and their staff during the second half of April, since those are the countries of origin for Hungary’s vaccines.
Gulyás added that in order to achieve nation-wide herd immunity, everyone living in Hungary must be vaccinated. This goal prompted the inoculation of all other foreign diplomats and embassy personnel.
While it is a positive gesture, many diplomats may ONLY want to be inoculated with vaccines licensed by the European Medicines Agency (EMA).
People inoculated with non-EMA approved vaccines may face more difficulty in the upcoming EU “vaccine passport” system. The European Parliament recently voted not to require member states to automatically accept vaccine certificates with vaccines that are not yet authorized by the European Union.
Featured photo illustration by Attila Balázs/MTI
