Hungary stretches vaccine supply to counter “exponential” rise in cases – UPDATE

Hungary is adjusting its COVID-19 vaccination drive to give as many first shots as possible in the face of fast-spreading infections, widening immunisation by providing at least some protection to recipients, authorities said on Monday.

Announcing the initiative, Surgeon General Cecília Müller said she expected new coronavirus cases to surge in the coming weeks, and so Hungary would try to stretch supplies by extending the period between the two jabs, while maintaining safety.

“Data show exponential growth (in infection),” Müller told an online press briefing. “The coming weeks will be very difficult.”

• Black day in Hungary: pandemic death toll surpasses 15,000

The central European country of 10 million surpassed 15,000 deaths from coronavirus at the weekend, a death rate roughly on par with that seen in the United States. Hungarians who have fallen sick with the disease so far now number 432,925.

Hungary is the first country in the European Union to authorise and use vaccines from Russia and China, causing unease among Western peers but contributing to a rapid rise in vaccinations as supplies now come from five manufacturers.

Western procurement has also increased, with Hungary upping its order of Pfizer-BioNTech vaccines to 10.87 million from an earlier order of 6.5 million, Müller said.

The country also has orders from Moderna and AstraZeneca and expects to order supplies of the single-dose Johnson & Johnson vaccine once it becomes available in the EU, Müller said.

The new approach to vaccination means a 12-week gap between AstraZeneca shots and 35 days between Pfizer shots, she said.

Authorities had detected a rising concentration of the virus in wastewater nationwide, with the capital Budapest especially exposed, which might necessitate further restrictions if vaccination efforts fail to curb the pandemic, she added.

That might include a closure of elementary schools, she said. Hungary has kept secondary schools and universities closed since November, and banned public gatherings, while limiting restaurants to take-out and closing hotels.

UPDATE

According to MTI, those who have already received their first jab are required to return for their second shot on the day indicated on their vaccination card, Müller said.

Citing worsening transmission statistics, Müller advised Hungarians to observe epidemic rules and accept whichever jab is offered to them. “Those who cherry-pick according to their personal preference may lose weeks in getting protected against the virus, they should in the current epidemic situation think twice about whether or not to wait that long,” she said.

Müller said traces of the virus are on the rise in the waste water of cities, including in Budapest, Békescsaba, Pécs, Kecskemét and Szekszárd, indicating that a further deterioration can be expected in the epidemic situation.

Addressing the same press conference, a deputy leader of Hungary’s operative board responsible for handling the coronavirus epidemic noted

the government decision under which coronavirus-related border control and protection measures have been extended until midnight on 15 March at Hungary’s EU Schengen borders.

The measure serves to protect the life and health of Hungarian citizens in light of the third wave of the coronavirus in the country, Lieutenant Colonel Robert Kiss said.

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Source: Reuters/MTI