Obligatory vaccination makes Hungarian doctors quit healthcare?

With the introduction of the obligatory coronavirus vaccine for healthcare workers, the number of doctors might further decrease as many decide to leave their profession.

The question of whether the vaccine against Covid-19 should be obligatory or not for healthcare workers seems to cause further headaches in the already suffering sector. Many professionals decided to leave the country because of the terrible conditions they had to work under in the past year.

Hungarian nurses at the forefront of the coronavirus fight earn less than EUR 300

When the government announced the new work contract for healthcare workers in the middle of the pandemic, many decided to leave their profession rather than sign it.

Nurse leaves Hungary due to fatigue – She is now more free in Germany

Now, this already

low number of healthcare professionals could further decrease.

Prime Minister Viktor Orbán announced in his usual radio interview on Friday that the

coronavirus vaccine will be obligatory for all those working in healthcare.

This decision goes against what the government was saying at the beginning of this year. As index.hu reminds us, employers were not allowed to force their employees to get vaccinated, and choosing the vaccine did not give anyone either an advantage or a disadvantage in their job.

The employer is only entitled to ask their employees to receive the vaccine if it is specified in the law.

This situation was overruled by the government on Friday when the Prime Minister did not only reveal the possibility of getting a third dose but also announced this new restriction.

“We are not an advocate of forcing anyone, but we made a decision: the vaccine will be obligatory for healthcare workers. It means that only those vaccinated will be able to work in the sector. They already have to receive several vaccines, the list will now be a bit longer,”

said Viktor Orbán.

As index.hu writes, once receiving the news, many healthcare professionals made their decision in a second. The news agency mentions László, who had been working for years in a hospital in Budapest. He knew right away that Friday would be his last day there. He claims he does not want to be vaccinated because of the unknown side-effects of the jabs; nevertheless, he would immediately return if he could continue working as before.

A Hungarian orthopaedic specialist, for instance, who has been working in Austria for 16 years, was about to return to Hungary, but the decision made her change her mind. Her reason is the same: the development of the jab was too fast, and she does not want to be a lab rat. In Austria, she is free to work after being regularly tested. Furthermore, it is free of any charges as it is financed by the government.

When it comes to the experts of the profession,

there is an international consensual opinion about the importance of the Covid-19 vaccine.

It is key both for the sake of the healthcare worker and for the patient.
The Hungarian Chamber of Doctors sees the vaccine as important in the healthcare sector, and they “welcome the decision”. Furthermore, they remind everyone of the already existing obligatory vaccines, such as the one against Hepatitis B.

The proportion of vaccinated healthcare professionals is actually higher than that of the civilian population.

Read alsoHere are the details on how you can get a third vaccine in Hungary!

Source: index.hu, mok.hu