Hungary to have inoculated 800,000 by end of week

By the end of this week, the number of people vaccinated against coronavirus may well have exceeded 800,000, István György, a state secretary at the Prime Minister’s Office, said on Tuesday.

Speaking at a press conference of the central board responsible for containing the virus, Gyorgy said that Hungary’s vaccination rate was above the European Union average. So far, over 457,000 people have received their first shot and 206,000 people are fully inoculated, he said.

In the next few days GPs will use 275,000 doses of the Chinese Sinopharm vaccine to inoculate registered elderly patients, while 41,000 people below the age of 60 with chronic illnesses will receive AstraZeneca shot. Another 52,000 registered elderly are set to receive the Pfizer jab at inoculation centres, he said.

• Hungary produces the biggest increase in coronavirus cases in Europe

Orbán urges voters to participate in survey

Prime Minister Viktor Orban urged voters to participate in the government’s latest National Consultation survey concerning possible removal of coronavirus-related restrictions, in a video published on Facebook on Monday.

“The moment has come at last to have a sensible discussion on how we could ease the restrictions imposed due to the epidemic,” the prime minister said, adding that “we have had enough of these [restrictions], we want to get rid of them”.

According to Orbán, epidemiologists will have the final say in the decision, but added that “everybody’s opinion counts” as to when, and in how many steps, the restrictions should be removed.

“That is why I am asking you to fill in the questionnaire,” Orbán said in his video.

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