Hundreds have died in Hungary after receiving the coronavirus vaccine

coronavirus covid 19 hungary hospital ventilator

Photo: MTI

The government has released new statistics detailing the COVID-19-related infections and deaths that have occurred among the vaccinated Hungarian population.

According to Portfolio.hu, the chart published on the government’s official Facebook page covers the period from 26 December 2020 to 20 April 2021. For each available vaccine in Hungary, it gives both the absolute figures and the projected numbers of infections and deaths per 100,000 vaccinated individuals.

In total, during this five-month period, 5,714 people tested positive for the coronavirus after receiving the second dose of any of the 5 vaccines and 273 passed away. Taking into account that 1,400,703 individuals were fully inoculated up to this point, it can be calculated that

0.4% of those vaccinated caught the coronavirus and 0.02% died from the disease, making vaccines an incredibly effective tool in battling the pandemic.

Read also: EU backs AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine as blood clot reviews continue

As for the vaccine-specific data, the following figures were published:

Sputnik-V: 201 infections and 2 deaths
Moderna: 108 infections and 12 deaths
Sinopharm: 1,744 infections and 78 deaths
Pfizer/BioNTech: 3,048 infections and 175 deaths
AstraZeneca: 613 infections and 6 deaths.

Calculated per 100,000 vaccinated individuals, the average incidence rates are as follows:

Sputnik-V: 95 infections and 1 death
Moderna: 177 infections and 20 deaths
Sinopharm: 356 infections and 16 deaths
Pfizer/BioNTech: 555 infections and 32 deaths
AstraZeneca: 700 infections and 7 deaths

To correctly interpret these numbers, we must be mindful of two additional factors. One is that these five vaccines have neither been used for the same length of time in Hungary nor administered to the same subpopulations. For instance, the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine has been primarily used to inoculate healthcare workers, the elderly, and others of frail health. The second is that

the government does not offer any information on whether any of these infections occurred within the two-week post-inoculation period, which is necessary for the vaccine-induced immunity to develop.

Also, it is useful to remember that Hungary, in line with the WHO’s recommendation, ascribes the deaths of all coronavirus-infected patients to COVID-19, regardless of other conditions they may have suffered from. Consequently, some vaccinated individuals might have died from unrelated causes that the vaccine could not save them from.