Hungary has hoarded a large number of vaccines – what now?

Gergely Gulyás announced a few weeks ago: Hungary will not participate in the European Union’s 2022-23 Pfizer vaccine procurement program. This was justified by the fact that Hungary acquired sufficient quantities of vaccines for the complete revaccination of the population, and the Hungarian vaccine factory will start production at the end of 2022 at the latest. Hungary is the only EU member state to be excluded from this procurement.

According to g7.hu, this decision has also attracted great interest because it is the most popular vaccine in Hungary; many travelled half the country for it. The temporary decrease in vaccination program enthusiasm gained momentum again when the vaccine was made available to a broader audience.

At the same time, the amount needed to revaccinate the population is already available entirely. While Hungary’s population is only 2.2 per cent of the EU, the absolute size of the Hungarian vaccine stock is surpassed only by Germany and Italy. In addition, only Malta remains ahead of Hungary in the progress of vaccinations within the EU.

This is only the quantity in Hungarian warehouses. Many million doses are still on their way. The foundational question is how many want to vaccinate themselves. According to Gergely Gulyás, it is possible to reach 6 million at best.

The problem with the vaccination of around 60 per cent is that it is not enough for herd immunity, according to experts. The other problem is that it can not be known when revaccinations will be needed, and much of the EU procurement of Pfizer is aimed at that cause.

What has not been mentioned at all in this context so far, however, is the shelf life on vaccines.

There is good and bad news in this regard. Sinopharm and the single-dose Janssen do not expire for two years, while Moderna has a shelf life of seven months from production and Sputnik, Pfizer, and AstraZeneca have only half a year. The last of Moderna and Pfizer are to arrive in the third quarter of this year, so they should be utilised by the first quarter of 2022.

It also undoubtedly plays a role in the fact that the Hungarian government is donating and lending more and more vaccines. In terms of sustainability, the loan is advantageous, as the country will get back vaccines that can be used for longer than the ones it lent.