Leaked: Pfizer-BioNtech sued Hungary

Viktor Orbán vaccine Chinese Sinopharm
PM Viktor Orbán was inoculated with the Chinese Sinopharm vaccine. https://www.facebook.com/orbanviktor

Politico has obtained a document revealing that Pfizer-BioNTech initiated legal proceedings against the Hungarian government in January. Surprisingly, both the company and the Orbán cabinet have maintained complete silence on this matter. Delve into the details below to understand this conflict broke out.

According to Politico, the company brought the case to a Belgian court. “Discussions with the government in Budapest are ongoing”, a spokesperson of the firm highlighted. But what prompted this legal dispute?

The Hungarian government had ordered 3 million BioNTech/Pfizer vaccine doses, amounting to approximately EUR 60 million. However, they not only declined to accept the delivery but also refused payment. The cabinet communicated this decision to the company in November 2022, citing the financial strain caused by the influx of refugees from the war in Ukraine.

Interestingly, Pfizer sought a fast-tracked judgment, but a judge dismissed that request in March.

This is not an isolated incident, as Pfizer has initiated a similar process against Poland. In that instance, the quantity of vaccines is substantially larger – precisely 60 million doses worth EUR 1.2 billion. Warsaw had declared in April 2022 that they were unable to accept and pay for the vaccine package due to the impact of the war in Ukraine and the surge of Ukrainian refugees.

Romania, European Commission also on the ‘death list’ of Pfizer-BioNTech

Legal cases concerning vaccines and COVID-19 are proliferating. For instance, in Romania, prosecutors aim to sue a former prime minister and two health ministers because they allegedly bought too many vaccines and, as a result, caused EUR 1 billion in damage to the state budget.

Adding to the complexity, a Belgian lobbyist has filed a lawsuit against Commission President Ursula von der Leyen. He asserts that she played a role in brokering the EU’s largest vaccine deal involving 1.1 billion doses. Scandals involving von der Leyen and the German company abound, with the President acknowledging in a New York Times interview that she exchanged text messages with Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla regarding the procurement of a substantial volume of vaccines.

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  • Hungarian Karikó awarded Nobel Prize in medicine – Check out the details HERE

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