"Those who are still unvaccinated are urged to take the vaccine as soon as possible, as the delta virus mutation now circulating is the most dangerous one, capable of causing serious illness," the government announced.Continue reading
Hungary’s recent vaccination campaign turned out to be an overall success. Over the past three weeks, more than 1.4 million people have been administered a Covid-19 vaccine, well above previous expectations. The vast majority of people have asked for the third booster jab, but the number of those who received their first dose also exceeded 150,000.
In an attempt to increase the vaccination rate in Hungary, the Orbán administration first announced a week-long vaccination campaign for November 22-28, when any Hungarian could get the vaccine of their choice at designated vaccination points without prior registration or having to book an appointment.
Following the successful first week of the campaign, the government extended the drive by another two weeks until December 12.
According to the official data provided by koronavirus.gov.hu, more than 1.4 million people received a jab in the past three weeks. Booster shots were by far the most popular, while significantly fewer people asked for a first or second jab.
A total of 1,171,109 people received a third shot during the vaccination campaign, which is recommended for anyone who received their previous vaccination more than four months ago.
A significantly less amount of people – only 166,000 – were administered their first vaccine dose, while less than 100,000 their second jab.
While these numbers are far below that of the third shot, they are still significantly better than the number of first shots recorded in weeks before the vaccination campaign. (It might be worth adding that the recent increase in the number of first vaccine shots may also have to do with the fact that many employers have made it compulsory, so a lot of people were forced to get vaccinated to avoid losing their jobs).
However, the figures also show that after a relatively strong initial start to the vaccination drive – just as expected, the number of vaccines administered quickly started to decline. While nearly 700,000 doses of vaccines were administered in the first week, during the last week this number was only 220,000.
What’s next?
Although the vaccination campaign came to an end yesterday, the government has announced a number of measures that may hopefully help to curb, and perhaps even reverse, the steady decline in vaccination numbers that seems inevitable based on past observations.
Prime Minister Viktor Orbán recently said that the government would notify everyone by e-mail, text message, or letter who has reached the end of their six-month-long “immunity period,” and ask them to get their booster jabs.
Another major step for reaching the goal of increased vaccination is the government’s promise to organize vaccination drives throughout Hungary so that Hungarians living in the countryside can also have the opportunity to be easily vaccinated. According to PM Orbán, in the next month and a half, vaccination “action days” will be organized in every town. This move is crucial since there are probably many rural residents who have been deterred from receiving the vaccine by the difficulty of getting to the nearest vaccination point.
Featured photo by Péter Komka/MTI
