Coronavirus: Hungary receives first shipment of Moderna jab

Budapest, Hungary. Photo: MTI

Hungary has received its first shipment of Moderna’s coronavirus vaccine, public news channel M1 said on Tuesday.

A total of 7,000 doses of the vaccine arrived shortly after 10am, sufficient to inoculate 3,500 people.

A police escort accompanied the van transporting the vaccine from Belgium. The vaccines are kept under constant surveillance, and digital thermometers ensure that it is kept at a temperature below minus 25 C.

M1 said that according to unconfirmed information, the vaccine will be used to vaccinate residents of elderly care homes.

Hungarian way: Pfizer ampoules are overfilled, so allowed for the vaccination of six people

Virus presence in wastewater stable

Concentrations of coronavirus in Hungary’s wastewater systems appear to be stable, koronavirus.gov.hu said on Tuesday, citing data from the National Public Health Institute.

The average concentration of the novel coronavirus detected in wastewater samples on the first week of 2021 showed a stagnant or slightly declining trend, the website said.

The tests showed that the presence of the virus in the sewage systems of Debrecen, Kaposvár, Salgótarján and five cities and towns near Budapest appears to be declining but remains above average in Szekszárd and Szolnok, it added.

The website emphasised the importance of continuing to observe the official coronavirus guidelines in the interest of maintaining the positive trends.