The opposition alliance of six parties has called on the government to withdraw a decree under which coronavirus vaccines can be granted a licence for use in Hungary without approval from the National Medicines and Food Health Institute.
The Democratic Coalition, Jobbik, LMP, Momentum, Socialist and Párbeszéd parties said in a joint statement on Friday that “licensing vaccines must not be made a political matter” and insisted that “health professionals rather than politicians should be consulted” when selecting vaccines to be applied in the country.
Easing the strict rules of licensing medicines would “increase public distrust for science and for vaccination in particular”, the statement said. Traditional protocols could be sped up but “bypassing or neglecting them could pose serious risks”, the document added.
Signatories to the statement also called for government guarantees that residents would be offered free choice of the available vaccines, and insisted that “chaotic” government communication contributed to the public’s scepticism about Russian and Chinese vaccine products.
Featured photo via LMP’s Facebook page
