Hungary is among the first EU countries to vaccinate 16-18 year olds

Photo: MTI/Szigetváry Zsolt

Reopening the economy depends on implementing a successful vaccine drive, Prime Minister Viktor Orbán said in a video posted on social media.

In the video posted after the first day of a European Union Porto Social Summit, Orbán said the main topics were “vaccine, inoculation, and the restarting the economy”.

The body welcomed the World Health Organization’s decision to recommend another vaccine for use, he said, referring to the WHO’s decision to recommend the emergency use of Sinopharm.

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The body agreed they have to stand up to anti-vaxxers, and “we have to try to convince everyone in Europe to get the vaccine.”

Reopening the economies hinges on the vaccine drive, he said.

In order to make this possible, Hungary has been continuosly negotiating with vaccine manufacturers and has achieved to have a wide variety of vaccines available for its citizens. Recently, a new shipment has arrived:

Fully 1.2 million doses of Sinopharm vaccine arrived in Hungary from China at dawn on Saturday, Peter Szijjártó, the foreign minister, said.

“This is the biggest shipment of vaccines so far,” he said on Facebook, adding that Hungary has now received 3.3 million doses altogether. Another 1.7 million doses of the Sinopharm jab are under contract to be delivered in the future, too.

Szijjártó said “the next milestone” was the target of five million vaccinated in Hungary, “bringing us closer to a life of normalcy”.

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“We are in a position to vaccinate anyone who needs it,” the minister said.

Another great news is that the vaccination of 16-18 year olds will soon start in Hungary and the number of registered people is very promising.

The number of 16-18 year olds who have registered to receive a jab exceeded 84,000 by Friday midnight – more than 40 percent of the age group – and registrations are still ongoing, according to information received by MTI.

Hungary is among the first European Union countries where the vaccination programme is so advanced that 16-18 year olds are now eligible for inoculation.

People 16 or above who register after the Friday midnight deadline, however, will have to join a waiting list alongside people aged 18 or above.