Coronavirus vaccine in Hungary

Almost 40 thousand Hungarians died in COVID

Altogether 115 patients died of a Covid-related illness during the past 24 hours, while 3,005 new coronavirus infections were registered, koronavirus.gov.hu said on Wednesday.

So far 6,257,771 people have received a first jab, while 5,973,555 have been fully vaccinated. Fully 3,161,930 Hungarians have received a booster jab.

So far 68 cases of the Omicron variant have been officially detected in Hungary.

The number of active infections stands at 113,057, while hospitals are treating 3,854 Covid-19 patients, 357 of whom need respiratory assistance.

Read also: Government: Hungary’s healthcare system prepared for potential next wave

Since the first outbreak, 1,249,694 COVID infections have been registered, while

the number of fatalities has risen to 39,009.

Fully 1,097,628 people have made a recovery.

Read alsoCORRUPTION – Hungarian doctor issued fake vaccination certificates

December 29, 2021

Government: Hungary’s healthcare system prepared for potential next wave

Hungary’s healthcare system is prepared to handle a potential next wave of the coronavirus pandemic, and there are sufficient quantities of vaccines available, a government official said on Tuesday.

Csaba Dömötör, parliamentary secretary of the Prime Minister’s Office, told public news channel M1 that developments connected to the new Omicron variant were constantly being monitored. Epidemic protection measures are determined by circumstances such as whether enough protective equipment is available and health-care capacities.

Hospital capacity, he said, was now sufficient and there were significant reserves, too.

Only vaccination, however, offered an effective solution in combatting the epidemic, he added.

Read also: Hungarian Covid ward: it is a stressful job, vaccinate yourself!

Dömötör welcomed that over 6 million Hungarians have been vaccinated, including over

3 million who have received their booster shots.

Future restrictions can be avoided if the number of vaccinated further increases, he said.

Read alsoDid the Hungarian authorities take risks with the Sputnik V vaccine?

December 29, 2021

Fourth wave downhill in Hungary!

Altogether 151 patients died of a Covid-related illness during the past 24 hours, while 1,370 new coronavirus infections were registered, koronavirus.gov.hu said on Tuesday.

So far 6,252,653 people have received a first jab, while 5,968,354 have been fully vaccinated. Altogether 3,153,470 Hungarians have received a booster jab.

The number of active infections stands at 116,778, while

hospitals are treating 4,019 Covid-19 patients, 374 of whom need respiratory assistance.

Read also: Did the Hungarian authorities take risks with the Sputnik V vaccine?

Since the first outbreak, 1,246,689 infections have been registered, while the number of fatalities has risen to 38,894. Fully 1,091,017 people have made a recovery.

There are 15,775 people in official quarantine, while the number of tests taken stands at 9,119,505.

Read alsoHungarian Covid ward: it is a stressful job, vaccinate yourself! – VIDEO

December 28, 2021

Hungarian Covid ward: it is a stressful job, vaccinate yourself! – VIDEO

The government shared a video that included a message from employees working at a Hungarian Covid ward. In the approximately 1.5-minute video, employees complain that working with coronavirus patients is stressful. They ask everyone to fight against the epidemic by taking the jab.

Christmas message from the Covid ward

The Hungarian government shared a video message from Covid employees on Facebook. In the 1.5-minute video, the hospital staff talks about their hardships of working at the Covid ward.

Working in the intensive care unit where coronavirus patients are being treated is extremely stressful, not only physically but also mentally.

However, the workers do not give up in spite of all the difficulties and fatigue. Among other things, adrenaline helps them a lot. In the video, one of the hospital employees also mentions that the pandemic is not going to go away on its own . Therefore, everyone has to do something to make the pandemic disappear.

The coronavirus is like a Russian roulette, you cannot know what it will cause.

Erika Kálmán, an ICU nurse, asked everyone to get the vaccine in the Christmas message. According to the latest data, the Omicron variant has been also spreading in Hungary, writes telex.hu. More than 38,000 people died in Hungary because of the coronavirus. Secretary of State István György declared on Sunday that the first coronavirus vaccine had been administered in Hungary exactly a year ago. Additional vaccination campaigns may follow in January.

Covid Doctor of the Year

Richard Rokszin, Covid Doctor of the Year, was also featured earlier in a video on the government’s Facebook page. Many people remember the video footage made in Italy at the beginning of the pandemic. After the shocking series of images, many people wanted to see what was happening in the Hungarian hospitals. However, this was not possible until now.

The argument of the media was that if people saw the actual situation, they would probably take the restrictions more seriously, and thus more people would go for the vaccine, index.hu writes. However, Richard Rokszin does not agree with them.

“It is an intolerable category for the average person,”

Rokszin described his daily struggles. “It’s better not to publish videos that show what’s going on in the Covid wards. It’s an intolerable category for the average person, and it’s often a great mental burden even for professionals. If we did not talk to each other when we left the infected area, we would most certainly develop some serious mental issues, from burnout to depression.”

December 28, 2021

Did the Hungarian authorities take risks with the Sputnik V vaccine?

The National Institute of Pharmacy has released the documents approving the Russian vaccine. However, several parts were obscured in the official document. An independent representative, Ákos Hadházy, made the concealed parts visible. These show that even though there had been several problems with the vaccine, it was approved.

Documents disclosed

After a lawsuit, Transparency International obtained the documents about the Hungarian authorisation of the Sputnik V and Sinopharm vaccines. However, the National Institute of Pharmacy and Food Health (OGYÉI) obscured several parts of the documents sent.

Ákos Hadházy, an independent Member of Parliament, posted on his Facebook page about the case.

Hadházy was able to make the hidden parts readable with a simple trick.

All you have to do is copy the data from PDF to a Word file and open it to make everything visible. A number of dubious pieces of information about the Russian vaccine have been revealed in the obscured sections. For example, it includes that

“it was not possible to establish and verify fully good laboratory practice.”

Did the Hungarian authorities take any risks with the authorisation?

It also became apparent from the documents that several important studies on efficacy and safety were missing. In addition, no efficacy was established. Another problem is that the viral content of the ampoules has been set within wide limits. This means that the active ingredient of some ampoules can show differences by up to three times, writes hvg.hu.

“According to the above, the Russian license was a major roulette with the health and lives of hundreds of thousands of Hungarians,”

says Hadházy in his post. Immunologist András Falus also talked about the fact that the official documents are very short. Accordingly, the documentation for the Sputnik vaccine is incomplete. By comparison, AstraZeneca had thousands of pages of documentation, while Sputnik had only a hundred pages.

Neither the OGYÉI nor the Coronavirus Press Centre will answer any questions. In their response, they say all vaccines are effective. They also asked the leftist press to “end their campaign against vaccination and some vaccines.”

December 27, 2021

How effective are vaccines really in Hungary? – NEW DETAILS!

Koronavírus Coronavirus Vaccine Vakcina Ampulla Ampoule

Out of 56 patients in need of ECMO, 54 are unvaccinated, says Béla Merkely, the cardiologist and rector of Semmelweis University. ECMO is short for Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation, which means that a machine helps a person’s heart and lungs to work properly.

“According to the latest data, 54 out of the 56 patients who received ECMO treatment at Semmelweis University were unvaccinated. Two patients had two vaccinations but were vaccinated 180 days prior to the coronavirus being diagnosed in them,”

says Béla Merkely, adding that this data is what proves the efficacy and necessity of vaccines the most.

Merkely is the leader of the Clinical Epidemiology Workgroup, which has been operating since 22 March 2020. The group consists of infectologists, epidemiologists, and heads of clinical centres from four Hungarian medical schools. Merkely spoke about the tasks of the workgroup, its remit, and the data held by the group, according to information published on the website of Semmelweis University.

It was also pointed out that the workgroup has meetings at regular intervals depending on the evolution of the epidemiological situation. As healthcare providers, the clinical centres of the four medical schools have an obligation to report about the epidemiological situation to the National Public Health Centre (NPHC).

However, there is more public interest data the workgroup shares at its meetings.

The institutions collect aggregated data and present the resulting information to the participants, reflecting the current situation.

The group is primarily providing practical, clinical experience to help control the epidemic. The four institutions also share their experience and “best practices” in patient care, said Béla Merkely. He added that their recent data supports the need for vaccination, as well as its effectiveness.

Read alsoSecret documents reveal concerns about Sputnik V and Sinopharm vaccines

December 26, 2021

CORRUPTION – Hungarian doctor issued fake vaccination certificates

In one of our previous articles, we have reported that more and more people were trying to obtain fake vaccination certificates to avoid getting the jab in Hungary.

Since the introduction of the epidemiological restrictions, attempts to get away with the regulations have been widely present in the domestic criminal sphere. Recently, even official doctors have begun to take part in these illegal activities, therefore, it has become harder for the authorities to track down the perpetrators. Hence, the number of people illegally acquiring vaccination certificates has also risen.

However, the Hungarian police cracked down on two nurses who sold fake vaccination certificates for more than 90 individuals for a price as low as €134 for a single counterfeit document.

Thanks to a report, the Hungarian police tracked down another trio of criminals selling fake certificates in Budapest. They allegedly had thirteen customers.

According to Origo, the police have also found a small-scale illegal business run by a doctor. The other members included her assistant and a beautician who worked as a middleman taking care of the supply and finances between the patients and the healthcare workers.

The customers did not even have to go to the doctor’s office; the beautician took their appropriate IDs and dropped them off at the doctor’s office along with the money.

Then, as 24.hu writes, the assistant uploaded their data to the healthcare system and issued the fake vaccination certificates to a total of 13 people, to some for a price as low as HUF 100,000 (EUR 278).

As part of the investigation, the Hungarian police department ordered the search of the three women’s home and the doctor’s office. They have confiscated a total of HUF 4, 220, 000 (EUR 11,723) and additional EUR 580, along with electronic devices, blank immunity certificates as well as other medical papers.

The police interrogated the 60-year-old doctor and her 45-year-old assistant as well as the 42-year-old beautician as prime suspects.

The doctor and her assistant are accused of thirteen cases of counterfeiting medical documents and seven cases of accepting bribes, while the beautician is accused of nine cases of assisting the prime suspects misusing medical documents and one case of bribery.

The prime suspects are not detained and can protect themselves freely.

Read alsoCrazy things people do for a fake vaccine certificate

December 24, 2021

Secret documents reveal concerns about Sputnik V and Sinopharm vaccines

Following a long lawsuit process, Transparency International Hungary, an independent professional organisation aimed at promoting transparency and mitigating corruption, finally obligated the Hungarian National Institute of Pharmacy and Nutrition (OGYÉI) to publish the research that was conducted about the authorisation of the Eastern vaccines.

The organisation sent the documents to 24.hu to publish the information on their website.

It turned out that some parts of the documents that the National Institute of Pharmacy and Nutrition (OGYÉI) handed over were wilfully obscured to hide information from Transparency International Hungary.

In this article, you will find a synopsis that is based on the article of 24.hu. You can read the original article by clicking HERE.

Sputnik V

Prior to the approval of the Russian vaccine, the Hungarian government conducted tests on guinea pigs to understand the side effects. However, they only did so two days before the permit approval.

Luckily, analysing the data of the animal tests proved that the Sputnik V vaccine did not show any signs of abnormal toxicity. Even though the tests were conducted in a short period of time, the results were adequate.

However, Hungarian medical professionals also paid a visit at the factory of the Sputnik V vaccines, where they observed that some information, such as the exact production plant and the names of the professionals, was obscured .

The document noted that it was not possible to inspect everything and, hence, determine adequate manufacturing practice at the end of the visit.

Even though they found no major issues with manufacturing, every batch of vaccines had to be screened by the experts at the Hungarian National Public Health and Medical Officer Service (NNK) to confirm their safety.

Sinopharm

24.hu also asked for the help of an academic doctor to explain a large portion of these documents that was not easily comprehensible by the layman. He wanted to stay anonymous, but stated the followings:

“In the case of the [Chinese] Sinopharm vaccine, the approval of OGYÉI [the National Institute of Pharmacy and Nutrition] and the launch of administering the jabs by NNK [the National Public Health and Medical Officer Service] were clearly prompted by the government’s decision.

There was no clear information on either safe production processes or widespread and effective use of the vaccine at the time of approval. Furthermore, no adequate domestic research was conducted preceding or following the approval of the jabs.

The applicability has been particularly uncertain and highly questionable in the case of the elderly (people at their 60s and above) and those with co-morbidities, however, the vaccine was widely and almost exclusively used in this group.”

The expert summed up that the authorisation and use of the Sinopharm vaccine, especially in the above-mentioned age group, can be considered “gross negligence”.

Conclusion

In the case of the Sputnik V vaccine, the expert said that its approval, although unusual in many respects, should not be considered negligence taken into consideration the severe epidemiological situation back then.

Unfortunately, according to Transparency International Hungary, the acquisition of the Chinese Sinopharm vaccines involved suspected corruption at a high scale.

The vaccines were purchased for an unjustifiably high price, HUF 15 billion (EUR 41.67 million), from Danubia Pharma, a previously unknown company in the field.

Transparency International Hungary has condemned the decisions of the Hungarian government upon the approval of the Chinese Sinopharm, suggesting that it was suspected corruption that potentially endangered the lives of thousands of citizens.

Read alsoSelling Fake vaccine certificates is a booming business in Hungary – VIDEO

December 23, 2021

Latest COVID-report: better numbers

Altogether 139 patients died of a Covid-related illness during the past 24 hours, while 3,359 new coronavirus infections were registered, koronavirus.gov.hu said on Wednesday.

So far 6,239,410 people have received a first jab, while 5,951,491 have been fully vaccinated. Altogether 3,124,497 Hungarians have received a booster jab. The number of active infections stands at 135,217, while hospitals are treating 5,159 Covid-19 patients,

464 of whom need respiratory assistance.

Since the first outbreak, 1,233,744 infections have been registered, while the number of fatalities has risen to 38,167. Fully 1,060,360 people have made a recovery. There are 31,081 people in official quarantine, while the number of tests taken stands at 9,037,023.

Read also: Hungary the least prepared for the Omicron variant?

Meanwhile, the virus and the restrictions hit the economy of Hungary significantly, as well. Despite government communication, the economy still struggles with difficulties. For example, MTI reported that Hungary had a trade deficit for the fourth month in a row in October. The data was confirmed by the Central Statistical Office (KSH) confirmed in a second reading of data on Wednesday.

Exports edged up 0.3 percent year on year to 10.310 billion euros, while imports climbed by 13.4 percent to 10.612 billion euros to give Hungary a trade deficit of 302 million euros.

Read alsoCould schools close due to mandatory vaccination for teachers?

December 22, 2021

Hungary donates 530,000 AstraZeneca doses to Bangladesh

Hungary will donate 530,000 doses of the AstraZeneca covid vaccine to Bangladesh to support that country’s immunisation drive, Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó said in a video published on Facebook on Wednesday.

Szijjártó said that Hungary had “many million doses” in reserve, facilitating that “everybody could receive their first, second, or even third shot”. “We can also help others… the faster the vaccination drive in other countries, the safer we ourselves are,” the minister said. He said it was especially important in terms of countries with a large population and from which many visits were made to Europe.

Szijjártó noted that

the vaccine donation was “the second largest ever” Hungary had made so far.

Concerning bilateral ties, Szijjártó noted “especially good” political and economic cooperation.

Read alsoHungary the least prepared for the Omicron variant?

December 22, 2021

Hungary the least prepared for the Omicron variant?

Hungary does not take sufficient measures to balk the spread of the virus – the Oxford University says. That means the Omicron variant will spread unstoppably in the country. Thus, the fifth wave can be greater than the fourth caused by the Delta was.

The fourth wave that started in September-October has been peaking in Hungary for weeks – portfolio.hu says. Thankfully, the death curve is on the downslope. However, West Europe prepares now for the Omicron variant. For example, the Dutch government announced today that they would close the country for two weeks. Amsterdam did so despite the high rate of inoculated people in the country.

Physicist Gábor Vattay wrote that the Omicron might cause a severe epidemic in a couple of weeks.

Mr Vattay calculated using the virus spreading trends in Denmark.

Read also: Israel bans travel to Hungary

Portfolio.hu argues that a lot would depend on what measures a country will introduce to stop the spread of the virus. Oxford University calculated a so-called stringency index to help comparison. According to them, “the index records the strictness of ‘lockdown style’ policies that primarily restrict people’s behaviour. It is calculated using all ordinal containment and closure policy indicators, plus an indicator recording public information campaigns.”

The last time the Hungarian stringency index increased was at the end of November when the government reintroduced obligatory mask-wearing in public transport and closed spaces. Since then,

Hungary’s index has been at 25 pc.

However, this is the second-lowest in Europe, only Sweden “precedes” Hungary. Globally, only some African countries have fewer or less strict measures.

Portfolio.hu says that the government built their strategy on the vaccine. Therefore, they did not introduce strict measures. This is supported by the fact that Hungary leads the proportional cumulative deaths list in the EU. The number of deaths grew significantly even during the fourth wave.

Based on estimates, the variant will be responsible for the deaths of around 10 thousand citizens.

If that is true, the government believes that the third jab will help evade severe symptoms. As a result, the healthcare system will not collapse because of the new variant.

Read alsoCould schools close due to mandatory vaccination for teachers?

December 22, 2021

Could schools close due to mandatory vaccination for teachers?

According to a recent coronavirus-related measure which was introduced by the Hungarian government, healthcare workers, teachers and educators have to be vaccinated. If they fail to do so, they have to take a compulsory leave of absence otherwise their work will be suspended. Trade unions have been organising strikes against mandatory vaccination for teachers.

Compulsory vaccination for employees in education

According to Telex, the initial deadline to abide by this new regulation was 15 December, but the government has extended this period. Unvaccinated teachers and employees working in education have been warned this Monday to take the jab until the 30^th of December. Otherwise, they will not be abe to return to work from the 3^rd of January.

There are many individulas who do not agree with this measure. Last Saturday, residents in Devecser have organised demonstrations to side by teachers who refuse to take the vaccine.

Additionally, Telex reports that both the Teachers’ Union (PSZ) and Teacher’s Democratic Union (PDSZ) will organise strikes on the 31^st of January to call the Government’s attention to the need to raise teachers’ pay as well as to dismiss the mandatory vaccination measure.

The unions said that they would likely hold a strike only during the first two lessons of the class schedule, during which children are advised not to attend school, but they would also organise another strike in March that may last for days if necessary.

According to Péter Horváth, the chairman of the National Faculty of Education, it is expected that about 5-6% of teachers will not take the vaccine.

While this number does not seem that high, Index wrote that some schools would not be able to operate from the 3^rd of January due to lack of teaching staff.

The leader of the teachers’ unions, Zsuzsa Szabó highlighted that some schools may only provide childcare from January as classes cannot be held when there is a dramatic shortage of specialists.

read also: Omicron to ravage Hungary soon?

Next step: mandatory vaccination for students?

Just a few days ago, the Semmelweis University of Medicine and Health Sciences posted on their Facebook page that students are required to take the booster jab in order to continue their studies.

“As a healthcare student, we come into contact with patients on a daily basis during our internships and volunteer work, so we need to protect not only ourselves and our families, but all Hungarian people to whom we commit to serve with our professional knowledge,” – the statement stressed.

The deadline for taking the booster jab is the 1^st of February, Vg reported.

The jab is offered without appointment for all students of the Semmelweis University at any of the three university vaccination points.

Students are exempt from the deadline if:

they received their second jabs (or first in the case of single dose vaccines) within 180 days
those who recovered from Covid infection less than 3 months ago
students who medically prove that they cannot receive the vaccine.

Read alsoSelling Fake vaccine certificates is a booming business in Hungary – VIDEO

December 20, 2021

Selling Fake vaccine certificates is a booming business in Hungary – VIDEO

In the case of Hungary, fake vaccine certificates are cheaper than ever.

In August 2021, Euronews wrote that a fake certificate costs 100,000-200,000 forints (EUR 272-544). In July, three women were caught in Budapest selling fake certificates for EUR 164. In November, a 41-year-old nurse and her 47-year-old accomplice helped around 90 people get fake certificates for EUR 134, Daily News Hungary previously wrote.

Now, the price is astonishingly low. While months ago, a fake certificate cost their monthly wage for some people, nowadays, a fake document does not cost more than pocket money.

On December 16, police.hu wrote that proceedings have started against unknown perpetrators. They got involved in bribery and issuing or providing fake covid certificates. Investigators interrogated 24 people as suspects, 2 of whom were detained.

The police accuse two nurses working at a rural hospital of 27 briberies and 27 forged public documents. One of the accused people is a 36-year-old man, another is a 45-year-old woman. The police investigated for months and interrogated another 22 people. One of them is a healthcare worker in a leading position.

The two nurses sold fake certificates for 20,000 (EUR 54) and 40,000 forints (EUR 108).

They changed the documentation of these people to say that they had taken the vaccine, but did not give them the jab. This activity went on for months. Selling these fake vaccine certificates became a source of regular income for the two nurses. Now, the police asked the Komárom-Esztergom County Prosecutor’s Office to make a motion for their arrest.

The case is not unique, however. News about general practitioners and nurses selling fake documents is nothing new. Rumours about which doctor or nurse gives out fake certificates, where they can be found, and how much money they ask for in return are spreading among people.

The interesting part of this case is not how common this new “business” has become but the fact that, at first, people had to pay EUR 272-544, but now, it costs only 54-108 euros to get a false document.

vaccination immunity certificate_hungary

Read alsoHungarian Covid restrictions in detail — Beware of fake immunity certificates

December 19, 2021

Number of new infections decreased in Hungary

Altogether 154 patients died of a Covid-related illness over the past 24 hours, while 4,977 new coronavirus infections were registered, koronavirus.gov.hu said on Friday.

So far 6,208,430 people have received a first jab, while 5,923,284 have been fully vaccinated. Altogether 3,065,350 Hungarians have received a booster jab.

The number of active infections stands at 154,511, while

hospitals are treating 5,856 Covid-19 patients, 519 of whom need respiratory assistance.

Since the first outbreak, 1,218,295 infections have been registered, while the number of fatalities has risen to 37,530. Fully 1,026,254 people have made a recovery.

There are 45,852 people in official quarantine, while the number of tests taken stands at 8,947,845.

budapest-metro-undergound railway-bkk-bkv 2

Read alsoOmicron to ravage Hungary soon?

December 17, 2021

Number of deaths, new infections still very high

Altogether 144 patients died of a Covid-related illness over the past 24 hours, while 5,298 new coronavirus infections were registered, koronavirus.gov.hu said on Thursday.

So far 6,200,040 people have received a first jab, while 5,914,603 have been fully vaccinated. Altogether 3,043,950 Hungarians have received a booster jab. The number of active infections stands at 159,853, while hospitals are treating 6,109 Covid-19 patients, 542 of whom need respiratory assistance.

Since the first outbreak, 1,213,318 infections have been registered, while the number of fatalities has risen to 37,376. Fully 1,016,089 people have made a recovery.

There are 45,659 people in official quarantine, while the number of tests taken stands at 8,919,775.

Read alsoTragic! Many children with Covid-19 are in intensive care

December 16, 2021

Important decision made about pandemic management today!

In view of the current pandemic situation, the government has decided to extend the coronavirus-related state of medical preparedness until June 18, 2022, the human resources ministry said on Thursday.

“The prolongation is necessary because the coronavirus pandemic is still prevalent around the world. It is prevalent in Europe and in Hungary, the number of infections is high and the

Omicron variant is present in the country,”

the ministry said in a statement.

The government and the operative board in charge of pandemic response will continue to closely monitor the situation and, if necessary, take additional measures to enhance protection, it said. The state of medical preparedness will allow for swift government response and decisions in the interest of protecting people’s health, the statement added.

Read alsoTragic! Many children with Covid-19 are in intensive care

December 16, 2021

This is how Hungary will produce vaccines

A health experts’ working group tasked with deciding the vaccine produced and the production methods used in Hungary’s first vaccine manufacturing plant held its inaugural meeting on Wednesday.

The working group is composed of health experts of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences, national medical institutes and representatives of Debrecen University, as well as virologists, epidemiologists and health policy leaders of the human resources ministry, the human resources minister told reporters after the meeting.

The meeting put forward proposals for the production of inactivated and protein-based vaccines,

Miklós Kásler said.

He noted that the plan of a domestic vaccination plant had been announced over a year ago.

A cornerstone ceremony of the Debrecen plant, in eastern Hungary, was held in September. The innovation and technology minister then said that the facility would start turning out doses by the end of 2022.

Read alsoBreaking news – Omicron variant present in Hungary!

December 15, 2021

Tragic! Many children with Covid-19 are in intensive care

The pandemic is affecting children more seriously than many people would assume.

Surviving the pandemic seems to be easier for those who have been vaccinated against the coronavirus. They can somewhat get back to a sense of normality without the numerous restrictions. Others are looking at the situation from another perspective, thinking not only about their freedom but also about the protection and safety of others. There are people, however, who are anti-vax or simply wait for another vaccine to be available, such as Novavax. But there is one demographic that is not often mentioned in the discussions about the pandemic, a demographic that many people thought were protected against the virus.

While there is a misinformation that children do not get infected with the virus, the truth is far from it. Many children with Covid-19 were taken to intensive care and put on ventilators. There were 100 children with Covid-19 in intensive care during the third wave of the pandemic. Many of these young patients are under the age of 10. If they survive and recover, they will be protected against the virus for only half a year.

Fifty children with Covid-19 were taken to the Heim Pal Children’s Hospital since January. The chief medical officer of the hospital told RTL that even healthy children can get the virus and badly suffer from the consequences.

Currently, Pfizer is the only vaccine that can be administered to children. Portfolio writes that 69,000 doses of the vaccine suitable for children aged between 5 and 11 have arrived to Hungary. One hundred cars started delivering the vaccines at 9 a.m. on Tuesday morning.

The first doses arrived at the Heim Pál Children’s Hospital in Budapest. The hospital functions as a logistic center. They received 600 vaccines, out of which 342 would be taken to Semmelweis University, Dél-pesti Centrumkórház (South Pest Central Hospital), and Szent János Hospital. The vaccines that arrived in Budapest are sufficient for 36,000 children.

December 15, 2021