PM Orbán: Hungary is ready for mass vaccination
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All the necessary technical conditions are in place to begin swift mass vaccinations against Covid-19 in Hungary once vaccines are delivered in larger quantities, Prime Minister Viktor Orbán said in a radio interview on Sunday.
Hungary currently has enough vaccines to inoculate 35,000 people, Orbán told public broadcaster Kossuth Rádió, noting that health-care workers are the first to get the Covid shot under the government’s vaccination plan. In the event that the country would suddenly have access to millions of vaccines, the shots
would be administered at over 10,000 locations,
the prime minister said, adding that the vaccinations would take place at the regular electoral polling stations.
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Orbán added, however, that Hungary is not expected to receive millions of vaccines in the foreseeable future, as not even the vaccine producers are in the position to project when they will be able to ship more doses or how many. “The vaccines coming from the west are being handled by the European Union,” he said, noting that member states have agreed to place their orders together and the doses are to be distributed among them by Brussels.
“I am not satisfied with the pace,
because there are manufacturers whose products were available sooner in Canada, Britain and Israel than for instance in the European Union,” the prime minister said, adding, at the same time, that Brussels was not to blame for “being at the mercy of pharmaceutical companies”.
Orbán said EU member states also had the option of ordering vaccines on their own in addition to the orders they place with the other member states.
Hungary and Germany are two countries that are exercising this option, he noted.
This, however, is not considered a violation of the agreement with the other member states, he said, noting that the deal does not bar countries from purchasing more vaccines through bilateral agreements.
The government is primarily focused on vaccines being developed in the East, Orbán said.
Russia’s Sputnik V vaccine is unlikely to be available in the quantities Hungary would need,
he said, adding that though China’s vaccine was looking more promising, it was not available yet, either. The prime minister said that ideally, people would get to choose whether they prefer to be inoculated with a vaccine developed in the West or in China.
Orbán also said he would not want to “speculate” as to how quickly Hungary would be receiving more vaccines. “If we have a lot of vaccines, we’ll vaccinate a lot of people quickly, but if they arrive at a slower pace, then the vaccinations will also be slower and fewer people will get the shot,” he said.
It is HOPED – that conversations with the outgoing “infamous” – President of The United States of America – Donald J. Trump, that may be continuing between our Prime Minister – Victor Orban have not discussed the process of citizens inoculation?
America is a Humanitarian Disaster.
America is a SHAMBLES.
The process of there inoculation program – commenced 21 days past – is nothing but an additional Catastrophic Humanitarian Disaster for -The United States of America.
Hungary – we must do it SMARTER and BETTER.