As the coronavirus has become a rather unwelcome subject in our daily lives, vaccination statistics in Hungary are everyone’s interest. Based on the latest statistics provided by the European Union, Hungary’s main vaccine used for inoculation is that of Pfizer-BioNTech, used 665,873 times. China’s Sinopharm vaccine is second at 158,062 inoculations, but its available supply is almost four times that of Pfizer.
The Hungarian government has not shared a lot regarding the total amount of available vaccines, how many vaccines have arrived so far, what types of vaccines are being used the most, or how many vaccines are available in total.
Furthermore, the daily coronavirus reports on koronavirus.gov.hu only shares the number of people who have received their first and second vaccinations.
Despite its secretiveness, the operative board is required to tell the European Union at least twice a week which vaccines have been administered, and how many they currently have available.
According to the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine has been used the most by far, with a total of 665,873 inoculations, and another 108,667 doses in storage.
Sinopharm is in a strong second place. Its 158,062 inoculations appear minimal compared to Pfizer’s numbers, but its 391,938 available doses may, in the near future, make it more prevalent than the vaccine authorized by the union.
Third is AstraZeneca with 83,556 vaccinations and 160,744 doses available, followed by Moderna with 22,912 vaccinations and 57,488 doses available.
Sputnik V appears last in line with 19,582 vaccinations and 26,418 doses in storage, but this also means that the Hungarian government has not yet reported the 100 thousand Sputnik V vaccines which arrived on February 23.
Based on these statistics, 56.04 percent of Hungary’s total vaccines have been administered, while 42.96 percent are currently in storage, available for use.
With regards to the amount of people who have received their first dose, 35.5 percent of those above the age of 80 have been inoculated, followed by 16.6 percent of those between 70 and 79.
9.7 percent of people between 60 and 69 have been vaccinated, slightly less than the 10.3 percent of those between 50 and 59. Finally, 4.1 percent of those between 25 and 49, and 2.3 percent of those between 18 and 24 have been vaccinated.
The amount of people who received their second dose of a vaccine is significantly less. 9.2 percent of people above 80 have received their second inoculation, while all other age groups sit between 1.6 and 3.9 percent.
According to government statistics, 1,002,714 people have received their first jab of a vaccine in Hungary. When the number of people who received their second jab is added to this, the number grows to 1,254,377. According to Oxford University’s statistics, 289.4 million doses of the vaccine have been administered globally.
This would make Hungary the 12th most vaccinated country in the world, as 10 percent of its population has received their first dose, and 4.1 percent their second.
Large numbers of vaccines will continue to arrive in Hungary. Hungary has increased its order of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine from 6.5 million to 10 million 870 thousand. The government has also shared that the single-jab Johnson and Johnson vaccine will soon be brought to Europe.
Hungary has also changed its approach to prioritize single jab vaccinations. This will bring Hungary’s population closer to mass vaccination for Easter, but could have negative consequences to immunity, since the guarantee of immunity is significantly greater with a second inoculation.
The new approach is very ambitious, but backfired over the weekend, when vaccinations went out of the government’s control due to logistical and communicative errors. It is possible that during the current lockdown, the government will take a step back to reevaluate effective options for Hungary’s vaccination program.
Featured photo illustration by Tibor Rosta/MTI
