Coronavirus vaccine in Hungary

Number of active infections slowly decreasing

Hospital

Altogether 97 patients died of a Covid-related illness over the past 24 hours, while 8,883 new coronavirus infections were registered, koronavirus.gov.hu said on Wednesday.

So far 6,384,088 people have received a first jab, while 6,144,019 have been double-jabbed. Fully 3,773,694 Hungarians have received a booster shot.

The number of active infections stands at 209,035. This number was more than 210 thousand yesterday. Meanwhile,

hospitals are treating 5,166 Covid-19 patients, 203 of whom are intubated on a ventilator.

Since the first outbreak, 1,730,366 have been registered with the virus, while 42,851 deaths have been recorded. Fully 1,478,480 people have made a recovery.

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Read alsoHungarian researchers’ discovery: COVID came from a lab

Good news? Nr of deaths, new infections slowly decreasing

Travel passenger tram phone

Altogether 91 patients died of a Covid-related illness in the past 24 hours, while 11,559 new coronavirus infections were registered, koronavirus.gov.hu said on Friday.

So far 6,379,065 people have received a first jab, while 6,131,361 have been double-jabbed. Fully 3,754,698 Hungarians have received a booster shot.

The number of active infections stands at 229,710, while hospitals are treating 5,152 Covid-19 patients, 209 of whom are intubated on a ventilator.

Since the first outbreak, 1,695,991 have been registered with the virus, while 42,360 deaths have been recorded. Fully 1,423,921 people have made a recovery.

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WHO recommends this Hungarian method to predict COVID spread

Laboratory Hungary worker

The Omicron variant of the coronavirus caused 98 percent of all infections last week, Hungary’s chief medical officer said on Thursday, and called on Hungarians to take the third jab to bolster protection, which she said waned four months after the second jab.

Cecília Müller told news channel M1 that the “stealth” subvariant of omicron, which is more difficult to detect than other subvariants, is more infectious than other subvariants but its clinical symptoms are similar.

Meanwhile, trace amounts of the coronavirus in waste water, an indicator of trends of the epidemic in the coming weeks, stagnated last week, Müller said.

The method was developed by Hungary’s National Public Health Centre (NNK), and the WHO is recommending it for use in other countries,

Müller said.

Altogether 99 patients died of a Covid-related illness in the past 24 hours, while 12,885 new coronavirus infections were registered, koronavirus.gov.hu said on Thursday. So far 6,376,902 people have received a first jab, while 6,127,609 have been double-jabbed. Fully 3,746,680 Hungarians have received a booster shot.

The number of active infections stands at 231,613, while

hospitals are treating 5,198 Covid-19 patients, 198 of whom are intubated on a ventilator.

Since the first outbreak, 1,684,432 have been registered with the virus, while 42,269 deaths have been recorded. Fully 1,410,550 people have made a recovery.

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Read also Hungary will have a national vaccine plant soon

Hungary will have a national vaccine plant soon

Factory worker

The sooner coronavirus vaccine production capacities can be increased the more successfully the emergence of new variants could be prevented, Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó said in Lyon on Wednesday.

Speaking at a conference of foreign and health ministers of the European Union, Szijjártó said that shortage of capacities was a challenge and called for fast action worldwide to build sufficient production facilities.

According to a statement from the foreign ministry, Szijjártó noted ongoing construction of Hungary’s national vaccine plant, adding that Hungary could contribute to the global vaccine production starting late this year.

“It is time the world at last realised that choosing a vaccine is not making a political statement… licencing or rejecting vaccines should not be a political decision,”

he said.

“It is clearer than daylight that the eastern vaccines Hungary uses are working well, they are safe and effective, and international organisations had better take a technical rather than a political decision on the matter,” he added.

The conference was convened under the auspices of the EU’s French presidency to find ways to help developing countries in their fight against the pandemic.

Koronavírus Katonák Army Military Coronavirus Vaccine Vakcina Oltás Resized
Read also Government: Russian, Chinese vaccines are effective and safe

Government: Russian, Chinese vaccines are effective and safe

Koronavírus Katonák Army Military Coronavirus Vaccine Vakcina Oltás Resized

Failure to globally approve the Russian and Chinese coronavirus vaccines that meet all efficacy and safety requirements can only be attributed to political reasons, Péter Szijjártó, Hungary’s foreign minister, said on Facebook on Wednesday. “But saving lives cannot be a political issue,” the minister added in a live broadcast.

Szijjártó said he would soon leave for Lyon to attend a meeting of EU foreign and health ministers to discuss the global fight against the pandemic, with special focus on assisting developing countries.

New virus variants can only emerge as long as the inoculation rate is low in several countries, the minister said, echoing the view of the WHO director-general that vaccine production is only a matter of capacities.

Szijjártó said the other reason for his visit to France would be the inauguration of a Hungarian consulate in Lyon, the centre of a region with 20,000 Hungarian inhabitants.

France is Hungary’s ninth biggest trading partner, the minister said, adding that the region of Lyon, along with that of Paris, has a key role in economic ties, as it accommodates the headquarters of several high-tech companies with major interests in Hungary.

Over the past few years French investments have helped the Hungarian economy to remain on a growth path, Szijjarto said.

Crowd-Gyor-people-hospital
Read also 5th wave soon to be past its peak in Hungary?

More than 5,000 Hungarians in hospital due to COVID

Coronavirus hospital

Altogether 101 patients died of a Covid-related illness in the past 24 hours, while 13,932 new coronavirus infections were registered, koronavirus.gov.hu said on Wednesday.

So far 6,375,808 people have received a first jab, while 6,125,019 have been double-jabbed. Fully 3,741,717 Hungarians have received a booster shot.

The number of active infections stands at 229,240, while

hospitals are treating 5,108 Covid-19 patients, 193 of whom are intubated on a ventilator.

Since the first outbreak, 1,671,547 have been registered with the virus, while 42,170 deaths have been recorded. Fully 1,400,137 people have made a recovery.

Védettségi Igazolvány Immunity Certificate Plastic Card
Read alsoImportant changes! Hungary’s immunity certificate to be limited to the inoculated

This is when the fifth wave will peak in Hungary

Coronavirus Hungary

One of the most well-known Hungarian infectologist is hopeful that Hungary can soon ‘breathe sigh of relief’.

With concentrations of the coronavirus in Hungary’s wastewater systems still rising “it will be another 1-2 weeks before we can breathe a sigh of relief”, the leading infectologist of Budapest’s South Pest Central Hospital said on Friday, adding he was hopeful that the situation would soon improve.

János Szlávik told public news channel M1 that although the virus’s Omicron variant was

causing fewer deaths and hospitalisations, it was significantly more contagious than previous variants.

However those who contract Omicron but are vaccinated are likely to experience symptoms similar to the common cold, he added.

Szlávik noted that an even more contagious “stealth” sub-variant of Omicron was identified in the Philippines last November and was likely to replace the variant’s original lineage.

He said immunity from vaccines offered a higher degree of protection than natural immunity, warning that those who are unvaccinated could become seriously ill again after recovering from Covid. Szlávik urged people to get inoculated, warning that even Omicron could cause severe symptoms for the unvaccinated.

False immunity certificate
Read alsoGP, nurses issued false vaccine certificates – even police bought some

5th wave soon to be past its peak in Hungary?

Crowd-Gyor-people-hospital

György Póta said that the fifth wave caused by the Omicron variant would be past its zenith in Hungary. However, he added that, until then, many children and young adults would catch the virus. Meanwhile, MTI published that 105 patients died of a Covid-related illness in the past 24 hours, and 16,435 new coronavirus infections were registered in Hungary.

According to blikk.hu, Mr Póta said it was good news that the number of patients treated in hospitals did not rise in the last few weeks despite the steep rise in the number of new infections. He highlighted that most children produce only light symptoms.

Koronavírus Vaccine Vakcina Coronavirus Oltás
Young boy receives the first jab in a Hungarian hospital. Photo: MTI/Komka Péter

György Póta said that the fifth wave would be over in a couple of weeks thanks to the protective measures the government introduced.

He added that when Hungary would get past the fifth wave’s peak, the number of new infections would steeply decrease.

Many virologists say that the virulent Omicron variant can result in an almost complete immunisation against COVID-19. As a result, future waves would only cause symptoms similar to the common cold. Thus, we could finally say goodbye to any future restrictions.

So far, 6,369,089 people have received the first jab, while 6,111,632 have been double-jabbed. 3,712,974 Hungarians have received a booster shot. The number of active infections stands at 227,407, while hospitals are treating 4,588 Covid-19 patients, 168 of whom are intubated on a ventilator. The website said that the Omicron variant accounts for 94 per cent of all infections.

Since the first outbreak, 1,616,846 patients have been registered with the virus, while 41,741 deaths have been recorded. 1,347,698 people have made a full recovery.

False immunity certificate
Read alsoGP, nurses issued false vaccine certificates – even police bought some

GP, nurses issued false vaccine certificates – even police bought some

False immunity certificate

A Hungarian GP and his assistant were arrested in Budapest on the suspicion of issuing false vaccination certificates. The suspects have collected EUR 170,000 (~ HUF 60 million) from the patients involved in the case, two of whom are police officers.

The well-founded suspicion is that the Hungarian healthcare worker, in collaboration with his assistant, issued dozens of vaccination certificates without actually administering the vaccine. The illegal action was paid for by patients who did not wish to receive the vaccine but needed an immunity certificate, which was issued by the suspects for EUR 42-85 (~HUF 15,000–30,000).

The suspects divided the amount received equally among them. The two perpetrators gained a significant amount of corruption money: a total of EUR 170,000 (~ HUF 60 million) was seized, reported Hungarian news portal Napi.hu.

What is even more surprising is that

two police officers are also involved in the corruption case. They, too, paid the suspects to receive the vaccination certificate.

The GP filled the syringe with the vaccine, then emptied the contents into the sink, saying “Let it run out,” reported Blikk.

This is not the first time that the authorities crack down on fake immunity certificates. A similar case was reported a month ago. That time, 42 criminal proceedings were opened by police investigative authorities for illegal actions related to immunity documents, 18 of which were related to the involvement of healthcare professionals, reported Infostart.

The regional investigating prosecutor’s office ordered the two healthcare workers to be detained, and they questioned them as suspects of corruption offences – committed by the GP as the perpetrator and by the assistant as an accessory –, and then ordered their arrest.

The suspects could be sentenced to prison from 2 to 8 years.

Four people have so far been questioned as suspects in the case, but neither the healthcare workers nor the two police officers have confessed to the crime.

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Read alsoCrazy things people do for a fake vaccine certificate

Hungary’s NATO membership is not up for debate

nato

Gergely Gulyás, the prime minister’s chief of staff, said today morning that it was in Hungary’s interest that Ukraine’s territorial integrity was respected by everyone, including Russia. The issue at hand is Ukraine’s future NATO membership, on which western Europe must establish its own position, he said.

In response to a question, Gulyás called Russia a reliable gas supplier. Hungary’s NATO membership is not up for debate, he said. Hungary’s interests lie in a united NATO and in averting war in Ukraine, he said. Gulyás said Russia felt that it had been deceived in connection with the enlargement of NATO, but recognised the alliance’s expansion over the past decade and a half.

What Russia does not want is for the enlargement to continue,

he added.

Turning to the economy, Gulyás said Hungary’s GDP had grown by almost 7 percent last year, the highest growth rate since the change of regime in 1989-90. The government wants as many people as possible to benefit from the economic growth, he added.

Asked about Monday’s teacher strike for a wage hike and workload reduction, Gulyas said it was unlawful in lack of a binding court ruling on the action.

Answering a question,

Gulyás said Prime Minister Viktor Orbán would not attend Friday’s opening ceremony of the Winter Olympics in Beijing.

He added that although vaccines offered less protection against Omicron than against the previous variants, they were still the most effective way to prevent severe illness from the virus. Hungary has more than 8.1 million doses of coronavirus vaccine in stock, he said.

Asked about coronavirus vaccines, Gulyás called it “harmful” that EU authorities including the European Medicines Agency (EMA) had not authorised either Russia’s Sputnik V, which he said had been shown to offer “the best possible protection”, or China’s Sinopharm which has been approved by the WHO. “Until they do so, we cannot speak of full equality,” he said.

Meanwhile, government spokeswoman Alexandra Szentkirályi said

Hungary would participate in the joint EU procurement of Pfizer’s antiviral drug Paxlovid for treatment of Covid.

She added that enough of the medicine for 50,000 courses of treatment would be ordered initially, but that volume could be raised later.

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Here are the latest COVID numbers from Hungary

Coronavirus Hungary

Altogether 88 patients died of a Covid-related illness in the past 24 hours, while 17,894 new coronavirus infections were registered, koronavirus.gov.hu said on Thursday.

So far 6,366,402 people have received a first jab, while 6,107,843 have been double-jabbed. Fully 3,700,305 Hungarians have received a booster shot.

The number of active infections stands at 227,899, while hospitals are treating 4,451 Covid-19 patients, 163 of whom are intubated on a ventilator.

The website said the Omicron variant accounts for 94 percent of all infections.

Since the first outbreak, 1,600,411 have been registered with the virus, while 41,636 deaths have been recorded. Fully 1,330,876 people have made a recovery.

immunity certificate
Read alsoBreaking – Government modified validity of immunity certificates!

Breaking – Government modified validity of immunity certificates!

immunity certificate

Hungary’s government will extend the validity of coronavirus immunity certificates for those who have received two vaccine doses until May 1, in line with the practice adopted by European Union countries, the prime minister’s chief of staff said on Thursday. Furthermore, pensioners will receive the first full 13th month pension in February, he said.

Neither Brussels, nor any EU member state have tightened the existing travel regulations due to the emergence of the Omicron variant, and the government does not want Hungarians to be subject to stricter rules than other EU citizens, Gergely Gulyás told a regular press briefing.

Meanwhile, citing virologists, he said the fifth wave of the pandemic had reached its peak in Hungary, and case numbers were expected to decrease at the same rate that they had peaked.

Though the spread of the virus has been significantly faster in the fifth wave, neither the number of hospitalisations, nor the death toll has been anywhere near as high as during the previous waves, Gulyás said.

Gergely Gulyás added that “thanks to the economic achievements of the past decade”, the government was able to restore the 13th month pension after it had been scrapped by the previous left-wing government. Families will also see their 2021 personal income tax payments refunded this month and Hungarians under the age of 25 will receive their first tax-exempt salaries, he said. Doctors, nurses, social workers, teachers and public service workers will also receive their increased wages this month, he noted. Also, the budget deficit will be under 5 percent of GDP this year, he said.

Meanwhile, Gulyás announced that the government will set up a force majeure fund to provide relief for the damage caused by last weekend’s storms, adding that most of the damage had been done to crop tents.

The agriculture ministry has begun to assess the damage, and the minister is hopeful that farmers can get their compensations within a few weeks, he said.

Vaccine Vakcina Ampulla Ampoule Oltás Koronavírus Coronavirus
Read alsoHungarian scientists reveal the effectiveness of the Chinese vaccine

Important changes announced about the acceptance of jabs in the EU

vaccination immunity certificate_hungary

Hungarians who have received a coronavirus booster vaccine approved by the European Union even after originally being administered an Eastern jab will be allowed entry into all EU countries, an MEP of the Socialist-Párbeszéd alliance said on Wednesday, citing the bloc’s justice commissioner.

The EU digital Covid certificate is valid for 270 days for those who have received two jabs, and can be used for an unlimited time by those who have also received an EU-approved booster shot, István Újhelyi said, citing European Commissioner for Justice Didier Reynders.

Újhelyi stressed, however, that the new regulation only applied to entry into member states, adding that Hungarians who had initially received Eastern vaccines should be aware of the restrictions they may be subject to in the country they are travelling to.

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Read also Important changes announced about the acceptance of jabs in the EU

Almost 20 thousand new infections in the last 24h

hospital coronavirus

Altogether 77 patients died of a Covid-related illness in the past 24 hours, while 19,690 new coronavirus infections were registered, koronavirus.gov.hu said on Wednesday.

So far 6,365,250 people have received a first jab, while 6,105,342 have been double-jabbed. Fully 3,693,859 Hungarians have received a booster shot.

The number of active infections has risen to 230,549, while

hospitals are treating 4,341 Covid-19 patients, 163 of whom are intubated on a ventilator.

Since the first outbreak, 1,582,517 have been registered with the virus, while 41,548 deaths have been recorded. Fully 1,310,420 people have made a recovery.

Vaccine Vakcina Ampulla Ampoule Oltás Koronavírus Coronavirus
Read alsoHungarian scientists reveal the effectiveness of the Chinese vaccine

Hungarian scientists reveal the effectiveness of the Chinese vaccine

Vaccine Vakcina Ampulla Ampoule Oltás Koronavírus Coronavirus

A recent Hungarian study shows that the lack of antibodies does indeed suggest lower protection against Covid-19.

As HVG reported, researchers measured the neutralising antibodies of people vaccinated with the Sinopharm vaccine and compared the results with the disease data of people also vaccinated with the Chinese vaccine.

With this, it was revealed that antibody levels are indeed a good predictor of immunity and that the lack of antibodies in elderly people vaccinated with the Chinese vaccine does suggest that they are less protected against Covid-19.

As Telex wrote, the results of the research were published in the scientific journal BMC Infectious Diseases, and they found that while 90% of people under the age of 50 had measurable levels of the antibody, 25% of people over 60 and 50% of people over 80 had no neutralising antibodies.

“Based on these findings, it seems clear that elderly people vaccinated with Sinopharm are much less protected against the coronavirus than younger people.”

The authors of the study are Tamás Ferenci, associate professor and biostatistician at the University of Óbuda, and Balázs Sarkadi, an academic and medical biochemist at the Natural Sciences Research Centre of the Eötvös Loránd Kutatási Hálózat (Eötvös Loránd Research Network, ELKH).

Vaccine Vakcine Ampulla Ampoule Oltás Koronavírus Coronavirus Idős Elderly
Photo: MTI/Vasvári Tamás

During the experiment, a total of 450 people were tested for antibodies to a part of the coronavirus spike protein between 1 April and 21 June 2021. Measurements were taken at least 14 days after the second dose of the Sinopharm vaccine.

The study found that antibody levels decrease with age.

Telex already reported on the study and its key findings in July when it was made available in unedited form. However, an important development has taken place since then: at the end of November, the first study was published showing the protection levels of vaccines used in Hungary, broken down by vaccine type and age.

Referring to this, Miklós Kásler (Minister of Human Resources) said:

“Vaccination with the Sinopharm vaccine provides a broader spectrum of protection than all other vaccines.”

Unfortunately, however, this study did not cover the period when the effectiveness of the vaccines began to decline significantly due to the length of time that had elapsed. Despite this, it was still a landmark study because it was the first to provide meaningful data in a professional format on the performance of vaccines in Hungary.

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PM Orbán: opposition covets power and harms the nation’s interests

Hungary opposition

Regarding opposition criticism of the way the government has handled the pandemic, PM Viktor Orbán said in his morning interview that his political opponents had gone “too far”. “There is always a better way to do things,” he said, adding that it was the opposition’s role to highlight those.

Accusing the opposition of “coveting power to the extent that harms interests of the nation, the country and the population”, however, he added that protection efforts should not be politicised.

Orbán said the operative body set up two years ago had been working to save lives, “and

they deserve better than to be attacked for it.”

He said the security of Hungarian citizens had always been the cornerstone of the protection efforts, and that went for vaccines too. The vaccines delivered as aid to other countries are reserves that would expire before they could be administered to Hungarians, so “it is better to give them away than to throw them out,” he added.

Regarding vaccine procurement, Orbán said: “It would be a mistake to expose Hungary to the group of Western pharmaceutical companies rallied by the European Union.” This way, Hungary can “show we are not here to provide extra profits to anyone,” he said. Commenting on the government’s decision to cap the prices on seven basic foods, Orbán said it could not be left to market players to solve the situation. The government, he added, would continue to

protect Hungarians “until things get back on track,”.

Growing energy prices rooted in politically motivated decisions are driving the inflation, Orbán said. “Brussels’ energy policy has failed,” he said. Climate protection should not be “forced” by imposing high energy prices, Orbán said, because that would lead to general price increases. “Policymaking in general should be about reconciling various viewpoints such as climate protection and social considerations,” he said.

The Hungarian government, the prime minister said, had “for years protected families by cutting utility prices”. Climate policy should focus on ensuring that

large polluters bear the brunt of the costs, “rather than letting Brussels burden Hungarian families,”

he said.

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Read alsoPM Orbán: “we want our own children, not foreign children, to inherit this country”

Nr of active infections above 225 thousand in Hungary

coronavirus in hungary hospital

Altogether 78 patients died of a Covid-related illness in the past 24 hours, while 17,869 new coronavirus infections were registered, koronavirus.gov.hu said on Friday.

So far 6,351,476 people have received a first jab, while 6,089,784 have been double-jabbed. Fully 3,594,529 Hungarians have received a booster shot.

The number of active infections has risen to 225,801, while hospitals are treating 3,463 Covid-19 patients, 145 of whom are intubated on a ventilator.

Since the first outbreak, 1,508,358 have been registered with the virus, while 41,229 deaths have been recorded. Fully 1,241,328 people have made a recovery.

Szilveszter Csollány
Read alsoThis is why Hungarian Olympic champion Csollány died from COVID

This African country will receive 200 thousand jabs from Hungary

Vaccine transport
Hungary will donate 200,000 jabs of AstraZeneca coronavirus vaccine to Sudan, Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó said on Thursday.
 
Sudan is the seventh African country to receive this form of help from Hungary, enabling them to better combat the pandemic, Szijjártó told MTI.
 
Thanks to the donation, Sudan will be able to speed up its vaccination campaign and increase the vaccination rate which is expected to reduce chances for the emergence of new variants, he said.
 
Hungary has taken a fair share in the global fight against the pandemic, having donated 2.6 million coronavirus vaccines to African countries so far, the foreign minister said.
Read also Lucky African country receives 400,000 vaccines from Hungary