Astonishing COVID-19 data surfaced in Hungary!

The National Center for Public Health has recently published updated COVID-19 data. Meanwhile, a new variant has been discovered in France.

A new variant of the coronavirus has been identified in France. The variant is called IHU until an official name will be given. So far, it has been identified in 12 people in the Southern Alps around the same time Omicron was discovered in Africa in 2021. The first patient identified with the variant was vaccinated. The variant is under investigation. – writes Bloomberg.

At the time when IHU takes the spotlight, data about the Omicron variant in Hungary has been finally published. But the figures are contradictory. Data from the National Center for Public Health shows a low number of Omicron-infected people, while a private laboratory indicates a high number of cases. – writes Portfolio.

According to the National Center for Public Health, 11% of infections are caused by Omicron. There have been 100 confirmed cases. Neumann Labs, on the other hand, announced that every fourth coronavirus case is caused by Omicron. Their last data shows that 78% of the infections are caused by the new variant. Since Omicron took over, there have been 66,000 detected COVID-19 cases in Hungary.

The difference in the numbers is astonishing. But there is an explanation why. Neumann Lab examines samples from big cities, where the virus rapidly spreads. The National Center for Public Health aims to do its research on the entire territory of Hungary. Although, they could put more effort into sequencing.

The authorities also did not report on the side effects of the vaccines, a factor that would be crucial to consider when carrying out vaccination campaigns. Additional data and transparency would build trust, and thus people would have a better understanding of how the virus and the vaccines affect the population.

The recently published data is promising, though, and possibly a sign of transparency and will to inform the public. This was the first time that the National Center for Public Health published relevant data about the Omicron variant. In the past, they indicated how many cases they registered but left out other relevant pieces of information. For instance, they wrote how many infected people were identified, but there were no statistics regarding what percentage of these patients had Omicron. As we reported earlier, specific COVID-19 data was hardly available in Hungary before. Details HERE.