Coronavirus vaccine in Hungary

CNN wanted to spread fake news about Hungary? – VIDEO

CNN Szijjártó (1)

Péter Szijjártó, the Foreign Minister of Hungary has been interviewed by the American news channel CNN live on Monday evening about the Hungarian Government’s standpoint on a variety of questions.

The reporter of the left-leaning news channel CNN asked the Hungarian Foreign Minister about vaccination, accusations of not abiding rule of law, and the upcoming Hungarian elections in spring 2022.

Origo wrote that CNN reporter asked Péter Szijjártó why Hungary has a “quite low” vaccination rate and what the Hungarian Government is doing to counter that as well as about the fact that Hungary has re-joined the EU program for procuring vaccines.

Péter Szijjártó responded that Hungary’s inoculation rate is currently 70% but the government intends to up this number to 100%. The Foreign Minister emphasised that this would be very much feasible as there are enough jabs available and Hungary has launched its vaccination drive last week. The vaccination drive allows people to get the jab without the need to pre-register.

Thanks to the vaccination drive, over 784,000 people have received vaccinations, with over 96,000 people getting their first jab.

Szijjártó also highlighted that even though Hungary is behind in total vaccination rate, it is among the leading countries in the number of people who received their booster jabs. According to him, around 35-36% of the people who were eligible for it had already received their vaccination.

Vaccination week ‘very successful’ in Hungary, says medical officer

Orbán writes a letter to EC president about infringement procedures

CNN then asked Szijjártó about a letter sent to Hungary by the European Commission on rule of law and EU fund topics. According to Szijjártó the Hungarian Government will respond to the letter. As he was trying to give explanations to the issues, the reporter suddenly asked why Hungary is an EU member state while changing the subject to the so-called “homophobic law” which has been passed this summer.

Szijjártó explained the difference in view of the EU and Hungary and has refuted the accusation that Hungary has passed a “homophobic law”. He explained that the Hungarian Government has passed a child protection law and placed the matter of sexual education in the hands of parents.

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Hvg writes that the next question was about Péter Szijjártó’s previous statement in an interview that was given to the Financial Times. According to the interviewer, the United States would interfere in the upcoming elections in Hungary in 2022.

Szijjártó said that the Hungarians are used to being influenced by both the West and the East throughout the history of the country, adding that the

Hungarian secret services have detected preparations that certain entities would like to influence the public in Hungary.

If you would like to listen to the full interview with Péter Szijjártó, you can watch the clip on the Foreign Minister’s Facebook page:

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Fourth wave peaking in Hungary?

Tram-train-crowd
Altogether 192 patients died of a Covid-related illness over the past 24 hours, while 11,152 new coronavirus infections were registered, koronavirus.gov.hu said on Wednesday.
 
So far 6,132,549 people have received a first jab, while 5,847,405 have been fully vaccinated. Altogether 2,559,096 Hungarians have received a booster jab.
 
The number of active infections stands at 187,856, while
 
hospitals are treating 7,546 Covid-19 patients, 562 of whom need respiratory assistance.
 
Since the first outbreak, 1,114,260 infections have been registered, while the number of fatalities has risen to 34,713. Fully 891,691 people have made a recovery.
 
There are 53,551 people in official quarantine, while the number of tests taken stands at 8,474,664.
 

Portfolio.hu wrote that Hungary might pass the peak of the fourth wave these days. The media outlet said that the daily number of new infections seems to have stabilized at around 10 thousand, which is good news regarding the spread of the virus. Based on wastewater data,

the spread of the coronavirus stabilizes at a high level.

The reproduction rate (R) is around 1 meaning that one infected gives the disease to not more than 1 another.

 However, the rate of positive tests has never been this high. Portfolio.hu says that Hungary reached the limit of its testing capacities. That means the number of hidden new infections is rising.

 

Almost 200 patients died in the last 24h, more soldiers to go to the hospitals

Coronavirus hospital
Altogether 195 patients died of a Covid-related illness over the past 24 hours, while 6,390 new coronavirus infections were registered, koronavirus.gov.hu said on Tuesday. The Hungarian Armed Forces is assigning more soldiers to help out staff at Hungary’s hospitals during the prolonged national vaccination campaign, the defence ministry said on Monday.
 
So far 6,126,420 people have received a first jab, while 5,842,885 have been fully vaccinated. Altogether 2,515,398 Hungarians have received a booster jab. The number of active infections stands at 185,928, while hospitals are treating 7,596 Covid-19 patients, 513 of whom need respiratory assistance.

Since the first outbreak, 1,103,108 infections have been registered, while the number of fatalities has risen to 34,521. Fully 882,659 people have made a recovery. There are 49,607 people in official quarantine, while the number of tests taken stands at 8,443,744.
 
 
 
More than 60 additional soldiers are being assigned to hospitals and health-care institutions to assist the Covid response efforts
 
and take the burden off health-care staff, the ministry said in a statement. This means there are now some 870 soldiers supporting the health-care system at 95 locations, it said. The soldiers assigned to the hospitals help out with logistical tasks, temperature screenings, directing patients to the right place as well as with administrative and transportation tasks.
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Vaccination week ‘very successful’ in Hungary, says medical officer

Vaccination campaign in Hungary.

Hungary’s vaccination campaign last week was hugely successful, according to the chief medical officer, so a decision has been made to extend it by one week.

Fully 784,000 people were jabbed last week, with 643,000 getting a booster shot, Cecília Müller said. “This is very important,” she added, noting that the virus was mutating at a mounting rate.

It was especially welcome that

96,000 people opted for a first jab during the special vaccination week, she added.

The Hungarian authorities are continually monitoring the omicron variant, she said in a video on the government’s social media platform on Monday.

The national public health centre conducted more than 400 tests going back five days to determine whether omicron was present in Hungary, but it has not been detected, she said.

The government is examining whether or not to declare Covid-19 immunity certificates as expired six or seven months after the date of the second vaccination, but has taken no decision yet, details HERE.

Read alsoThis is how effective the vaccines in Hungary are

Orbán cabinet is reviewing the deadline for the expiry of immunity certificates

vaccination hungary

The government is examining whether or not to declare Covid-19 immunity certificates as expired six or seven months after the date of the second vaccination, but has taken no decision yet, Antal Rogán, the cabinet chief, said during his annual hearing in parliament’s economic committee on Monday.

Thanks to its vaccination drive, Hungary was the first to relaunch the country, Rogán said.

“It is now a priority that as many people as possible take up a booster jab which is the only way to prevent or flatten the curve of a fifth wave of the coronavirus epidemic,” he said.

To help attain this goal, the government will launch further national coronavirus vaccination campaigns next month and in January, Rogán said, adding that additional “personal campaigns” were also planned in cooperation with health authorities.

“A booster jab is all the more important because most people got inoculated by the end of June and these vaccines lose much of their effectiveness in preventing infection after four to six months,”

he said.

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Read also Hungary to produce Chinese Sinopharm vaccines!

500,000 get Covid jabs during vaccination drive, new variant not detected in Hungary

Vaccine Vakcina Coronavirus Koronavírus

More than half a million people were inoculated against Covid during the first five days of Hungary’s national vaccination drive, with over 60,000 of them getting their first jab, Human Resources Minister Miklós Kásler said on Saturday.

As the government has extended the vaccination campaign by another week, people may continue to come to any of the country’s designated hospital vaccination points between 7:00 in the morning and 7:00 in the evening without having to register or make an appointment until Dec. 5, Kásler said in a video message on Facebook.

So far, some 6.1 million Hungarians have received at least one Covid jab, the minister said.

“During the third wave of the pandemic, the vaccines available in Hungary helped prevent around 9,500 deaths,” Kásler said, adding that some 40 percent of those people had received the Chinese Sinopharm and the Russian Sputnik V jabs.

PM Orbán: “we can have a big family Christmas this year”

Egypt and Maldives to honour Hungarian immunity certificates

He welcomed the European Medicines Agency’s decision to clear the use of the Pfizer/BioNTech jab for children between the ages of 5 and 12, noting that their inoculation was set to start after Dec. 20.

Kásler said the booster shot was recommended to everyone who received their second dose over four months ago.

On another note, the new Omicron variant of COVID-19 has not yet been detected in available samples in Hungary, the national public health centre NNK told daily Magyar Nemzet on Sunday.

The website of the daily mno.hu said it had contacted NNK for information after reports on the Omicron variant from countries in Hungary’s “direct neighbourhood”, such as Austria, the Czech Republic, Germany and Italy.

Read alsoThis is how effective the vaccines in Hungary are

Egypt and Maldives to honour Hungarian immunity certificates

Covid Passport Coronavirus Passport

Hungary has agreed with Egypt and the Maldives to mutually recognise Covid immunity certificates, Péter Szijjártó, the minister of foreign affairs and trade, said on Saturday.

Under the agreement with Egypt, Hungarians who have been inoculated against Covid can enter the country without restriction from Tuesday, with only unvaccinated children between the ages of 6 and 18 needing to present a Covid test upon entry, the minister said in a video on Facebook.

From Wednesday, vaccinated Hungarian and Maldivian citizens over 18 can enter each other’s countries with an immunity certificate, while minors can enter unrestricted, Szijjártó said.

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Hungary has now reached agreements on mutual recognition of Covid immunity certificates with over 20 countries, he said:

  • Albania
  • Bahrain
  • Cyprus
  • Czech Republic
  • Republic of North Macedonia
  • Georgia
  • Croatia
  • India
  • Kazakhstan
  • Kyrgyzstan
  • Morocco
  • Moldova
  • Mongolia
  • Montenegro
  • Russian Federation
  • Romania
  • San Marino
  • Serbia
  • Slovakia
  • Slovenia
  • Turkey
  • Ukraine
  • Uzbekistan
  • Cape Verde
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Read alsoHungarian Covid restrictions in detail — Beware of fake immunity certificates

FM Szijjártó: Hungarian and Russian ties tighten

Péter Szijjártó Foreig Affairs Minister 2

Hungary will begin talks with Russia next week on permission to use the Russian Sputnik Light coronavirus vaccine in the country, Péter Szijjártó, the minister of foreign affairs and trade, said in Obninsk near Moscow on Friday.

Hungary is also set to begin manufacturing the Sputnik V jab at the end of next year, Szijjártó told a press conference after a meeting of the Hungarian-Russian inter-governmental economic cooperation committee.

Also, the upgrade of the Paks nuclear power plant will enter into its implementation stage next year, the minister said. Russia has submitted one of the eight necessary permit requests for the project, he added.

Other areas of cooperation include Hungarian low-cost airline Wizz Air expanding its number of flights between Debrecen and Moscow to two per week from Dec. 13, and next year it will launch a direct flight between Budapest and Yekaterinburg, Szijjártó said.

Meanwhile, Hungary and Russia will sign an agreement on the establishment of a rail freight joint venture on Dec. 16, Szijjártó said. Also a Russian cosmetics company will build an 18 billion forint (EUR 49m) plant in Alsozsolca, in north-eastern Hungary, creating 260 jobs, he said.

Hungary signed two crucial agreements with Russia this year; one on the purchase of life-saving vaccines and another one on the supply of natural gas, Szijjártó said. In terms of Hungarian-Russian cooperation, this year outshone previous ones, the minister said.

Hungary and Russia are engaged in pragmatic cooperation and “anyone who opposes that acts against the interests of the Hungarian people”, he added.

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Asked how he saw the future of bilateral ties in view of a pledge by the new German government to step up the pressure on Moscow and countries that cooperate with it, Szijjártó said: “We’re seeing immense hypocrisy when it comes to bilateral ties with Russia.”

“In our view, the further west a country is in Europe, the stronger and better its cooperation is with Russia,” the minister said.

Péter Szijjártó Foreig Affairs Minister 3
Photo: facebook.com/szijjarto.peter.official

“It would be nice if they put an end to this hypocrisy and if the words of the western European countries reflected their actions,” Szijjártó said. “I understand that we’re in their way on the Russian market because we are competitors in some matters, but we refuse to give up the Hungarian interests that stem from our cooperation with Russia.”

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Asked when the two countries would mutually recognise each other’s Covid immunity certificates, Szijjártó noted that Russia and Hungary had relaxed entry restrictions for each other’s citizens as much as they could. Hungarian travellers are required to produce a negative PCR test to enter Russia, while Hungary requires Russian tourists to be vaccinated, he noted.

Meanwhile, Szijjártó called it “appalling” that some were attempting to politicise the issue of vaccines. “I consider it pathetic, in fact, since lives are at stake,” Szijjártó said. “I consider it appalling that to this day vaccines are being made into a political and ideological issue in some countries.”

“Vaccines are not an ideological issue; vaccines save lives and political ideology can’t be used to save lives,” he added.

Minister: Russia is one of the main targets of foreign investment of Hungarian companies

Szijjártó thanked Russian Health Minister Mikhail Murashko for having helped Hungary to procure supplies of the Sputnik V jab during a vaccine shortage early this year.

“It was already clear back then that the vaccine would save lives,” Szijjártó said. “And it was also clear that those who procured them quicker could save lives quicker and save more.”

“Looking back I can say that the success of Hungary’s vaccination campaign was contingent on our ability to start administering jabs early,” he said. “And the reason we were able to do that was because we had more vaccines than others.”

Szijjártó said his Western counterparts all admitted privately that the Russian jab was effective.

At the event, Szijjártó and Hungary’s Chief Medical Officer Cecilia Muller presented Murashko with the Medium Cross of the Order of Merit of Hungary.

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This is how effective the vaccines in Hungary are

A recent Hungarian study shows how effective vaccines are in Hungary. Among the authors of the study presenting the results are Cecília Müller and Miklós Kásler. They published their results in a prestigious international journal called Clinical Microbiology and Infection.

Recent Study on vaccine efficacy

The study calculated with 3.7 million vaccinated people. Each of these individuals received a second vaccination. The effectiveness is shown by the fact that the infections and number of deaths registered among those vaccinated were compared with data of the unvaccinated control group, writes 24.hu. The obtained results were treated with statistical methods. Researchers also considered gender, age, and date of vaccination.

Among those completely vaccinated, protection against the infection is 68.7 to 88.7 per cent, depending on the vaccine.

Vaccine protection against mortality ranges from 87.5 to 97.5 per cent. Among 16 and 44-year-olds, the latter is 100 per cent. So, no one has died in this age group among those who have received both vaccines. The study period always begins 7 days after the second vaccination.

Comparison between vaccines

The research looked at how effective the different types of vaccines are for specific age groups. Overall, Sinopharm has the lowest efficacy. It protects against the infection in only 43.1 per cent among those over the age of 85.

Data collection for the study ended on June 10th.

This is important because the latest outbreak of the epidemic is no longer included in the study. It is also important to note that the effectiveness of vaccines decreases significantly after half a year, writes telex.hu.

Tamás Ferenci, a biostatistician at the University of Óbuda, also gave his opinion on the results of the study. Ferenci emphasised that the study is not about the current performance of the vaccines. “We need one thing. We need to know the results earlier, especially in an epidemic like this where a week matters. But it is very simple: we have the data, and we have the analysis program required for preparing a study like the one presenting the current results,” said Ferenci.

PM Orbán: “we can have a big family Christmas this year”

Viktor-Orban-interview
The government is prolonging the national vaccination campaign by a week, Prime Minister Viktor Orbán said on public radio on Friday. “We can have a big family Christmas this year” only if the number of those taking booster shots grows significantly, Orbán said.

Most of those being vaccinated are receiving the third jab now, with the number of those still taking the first dose the lowest, he said. Orbán said that while lockdowns only slowed the spread of the disease, booster shots offered a decisive solution. At the same time, people should also comply with the protection measures in place, he said.
 
He asked Hungarians to take the third jab.
 
“We have managed to save the lives of those who did,” he said. On the subject of possible further restrictions, Orbán said the government would not exclude anything. If take-up of booster shots rose and the pace of new infections could be reined in or halted, shutdowns would be unnecessary, he added.
 
Following European approval for a vaccine that can be used to inoculate 5-12 year-olds, Hungary has purchased 2 million doses, he said, adding that the first shipment of 130,000 doses was expected to arrive on Dec. 20. After that, deliveries of the vaccine suitable for children would be continuous.
 
Orbán appealed to parents to vaccinate their children.
 
The prime minister said administration and health-care staff, as well as people helping police officers and soldiers, were a guarantee of Hungary’s health-care system not collapsing. All the necessary equipment, beds, ventilators are available, as well as the designated Covid hospital, which could be operational “in an instant”.
 
 
Calling the work of doctors and nurses “superhuman” and “heroic”, Orban noted the government’s decision to boost wages in the sector. The wage hikes signalled to health-care staff that “the country stands by them”, he added. Meanwhile, Orbán said
 
migration was expected to ramp up significantly at Hungary’s southern border over the next few months.
 
So far this year, more than 100,000 migrants have been stopped at Hungary’s border, three times last year’s figure. At the same time, the Italian-Spanish, Eastern and Balkan routes were all seeing a massive increase in migration, he said, noting that 30,000-35,000 people were leaving Afghanistan each day, most likely in Hungary’s direction, intending to traverse the country.
 
He said the European Union’s rules on migration had been written in peacetime and were now obsolete. “Today there’s no peacetime,” he added. The new Berlin government sees Germany “as an immigrant country”, while Hungary is not in favour of turning into one, he said, adding that the two standpoints were “incompatible”, and neither side would abandon its position.
 
He noted that Hungary deports illegal migrants across the border,
 
and applications for asylum are processed either at the Hungarian embassy of their country of origin or the last country they have passed through. He also noted that the EU rejected this solution and insisted Hungary should “accept these people” and process asylum claims in the country.
 
 
 
Brussels, Orbán added, should cover its share of the costs of defending Europe’s external border rather than punishing countries on the frontline doing so. Instead, the EU funded the “pro-migration organisations” of George Soros, he said.
 
On the topic of the cap on utility bills, Orbán underlined the
 
government’s commitment to “defending its results”.
 
Put to him that the government scheme was anti-market, he said: “I’m not interested in the market; I’m interested in the Hungarian people.”
 
Orbán said the left wing believed in an “oracle” that conjured an image of the market. “We, on the other hand, must base our logic on being free and able to regulate ourselves.” He said the scheme which has run for the past eight years had proven its worth and it must be defended “by attacking the left wing and Brussels”.
 
The prime minister said tax increases would inevitably follow an election win by the left. The Fidesz government, however, pursued tax cuts as a way to create jobs, he added.
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Hungary to produce Chinese Sinopharm vaccines!

Factory-vaccine-Hungary
Hungary greatly profits from and seeks to continue pragmatic cooperation based on mutual trust with China, Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó said on Thursday after a videoconference with counterpart Wang Yi.
 
Szijjártó told Wang that in recent weeks he had attended events announcing Chinese investment and ground-breaking ceremonies worth over 90 billion forints (EUR 245m), the ministry said. China was the largest investor in Hungary last year and came second after South Korea this year, he added.

Wang congratulated Hungary for
 
successful crisis management
 
and noted that when China was in trouble during the first phase of the coronavirus pandemic, Hungary came to its help. During the third wave, Budapest could rely on Beijing on the fast supply of vaccines, he added.

Szijjártó said cooperation would continue concerning vaccines, with China having expressed willingness to negotiate on the production of Sinopharm vaccine in Hungary based on a licence. The government is willing to make available Hungary’s experiences gained during the use of the Chinese vaccine if this is necessary in the licensing process of the vaccine by the European Medicines Agency, Szijjártó said.
 
 
 
He announced the
 
opening of a new Hungarian consulate-general in Guangzhou,
 
adding that this is expected to further improve economic and investment links between the two countries.

He said that the value of bilateral trade increased by 21 percent this year and reached 8 billion dollars by August, while the Hungarian export volume to China increased by 33 percent.

Szijjártó said that around twenty Hungarians athletes would compete at the Winter Olympics in Beijing this winter. Commenting on various calls for boycott, he expressed hope that “politics would not be mixed up with sport”.
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Coronavirus raging in Hungary – latest data

Coronavirus in Hungary
Altogether 185 patients died of a Covid-related illness during the past 24 hours, while 12,165 new coronavirus infections were registered, koronavirus.gov.hu said on Thursday.
 
So far 6,072,192 people have received a first jab, while 5,816,050 have been fully vaccinated. Fully 2,153,117 Hungarians have received a booster jab.
 
The number of active infections stands at 165,862, while hospitals are treating 6,858 Covid-19 patients,
 
680 of whom need respiratory assistance.
 
Since the first outbreak, 1,057,017 infections have been registered, while the number of fatalities has risen to 33,704. Fully 857,451 people have made a recovery.
 
There are 64,002 people in official quarantine, while the number of tests taken stands at 8,249,524.
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Do Hungarian authorities hide the most crucial COVID data?

Coronavirus

Hungarian biostatistician Tamás Ferenci, a fellow lecturer of the Óbuda University, wrote that treating people as partners, transparency, and honest communication would be fundamental for a successful defence. He published an article yesterday in which he drew attention to the deficiencies and contradictions of COVID data sharing in Hungary.

Hungarian biostatistician tells the solution

According to telex.hu, Ferenci gave a detailed list of what data the government and authorities should publish. He cited foreign examples not only from the West but also from the East supporting the importance of transparency.

The list of the needed data is very long. To sum it up, Ferenci argues that the

authorities should share more details, arranged according to more aspects.

Moreover, he says that Hungary would need more frequent data sharing in the following topics.

– the age, gender, and geographical distribution of the infected, people treated in hospitals, in intensive care units and receiving respiration support

– the number, type, geographical distribution of the tests and the time between the testing and the result

– details about the capacities of the hospitals

National vaccination campaign gets under way

 

– Ferenci says that we should know more about the patients treated in the hospitals. We should know all their diseases, the therapy they receive, their general condition. Moreover, we should know how many recovered, were transferred to other departments, or died

– data about the vaccines administered. For example, we should know the regional distribution of the jabs

– Ferenci argues that Hungarians should know how many inoculated people became infected, were treated in the hospitals, or died. Furthermore, authorities should also share the type of vaccine they received

– Moreover, the authorities never reported the side effects of the COVID vaccines

– authorities do not share the variants of the virus currently present in Hungary. For example, we only know that the delta plus variant arrived from a statement of the chief medical officer

– Meanwhile, Ferenci believes that it is needless to share so many details about the diseased because they make them indentifiable

Hungary has enough vaccine, says minister

It would not require money or plus energy

He added that the list above would not require more money or energy. 60-70 percent of them would only need will and creating a proper data surveillance system. He said that the Hungarian authorities are cynical when they say they cannot share the age distribution of the infected because of data protection reasons. However,

they share so many details about the diseased that they can sometimes be identified.

The Hungarian biostatistician said that the authorities could only win the trust of the people with higher transparency. He says that regular and professional data sharing drives authorities to work better. Without that, there is no outside control, and mistakes remain hidden instead of corrected.

He says that data sharing is better not only in the USA or in the UK but also Romania and North Macedonia. In the USA, the citizens even know which hospital struggles with a labour shortage.

coronavirus vaccine injection
Read alsoThird and fourth jabs to come? – This is what Hungarian virologists think

The number of infected reached a new record in Hungary!

Hungary coronavirus
Altogether 176 patients died of a Covid-related illness during the past 24 hours, while 12,637 new coronavirus infections were registered, koronavirus.gov.hu said on Wednesday.
 
So far 6,057,367 people have received a first jab, while 5,808,536 have been fully vaccinated. Fully 2,043,213 Hungarians have received a booster jab.

The number of active infections stands at 155,003, while hospitals are treating 6,840 Covid-19 patients, 664 of whom need respiratory assistance.
 
Third and fourth jabs to come? – This is what Hungarian virologists think

Since the first outbreak, 1,044,852 infections have been registered, while the number of fatalities has risen to 33,519. Fully 856,330 people have made a recovery.

There are 54,978 people in official quarantine, while the number of tests taken stands at 8,196,724.
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Read alsoHungary has enough vaccine, says minister

Hungary has enough vaccine, says minister

vaccination campaign hungary

Hungary has a sufficient amount of coronavirus vaccines, Gergely Gulyás, the prime minister’s chief of staff, told parliament’s justice affairs committee on Tuesday.

In his yearly briefing to the committee, the minister said that a total 10 million vaccine doses were available, adding that the government was working to increase the number of people inoculated with a booster jab to 4-5 million. “Even if everybody asked for Pfizer as the third jab, we’d have enough to go round,” he added.

The minister said

the range of services restricted to holders of vaccination certificates would be defined depending how the Covid situation panned out.

Meanwhile, Gulyás said that the pandemic was putting a great strain on public administration. In the spring, staff had to coordinate administration of 200,000 jabs on certain days, while they also had to manage over 200,000 job protection subsidy applications and 22,000 applications for research and development aid, he said.

Answering a question concerning whether vaccinations would be mandatory, Gulyás noted that

Austria had been the only EU country so far to do so, adding that the Hungarian government has introduced compulsory vaccination in public administration.

On another subject, Gulyás said that central subsidies for civil groups had increased from an annual 3.4 billion forints (EUR 9.3m) to 10 billion forints between 2012 and 2021, while financing for religious organisations had tripled since 2010. Ethnic Hungarian communities now receive about ten times as much assistance, while the Hungary Helps programme has launched 170 projects in 50 counties to help some half a million people stay in their homeland, he said.

Answering a question concerning the upcoming general election, Gulyás said

the government was not planning to change the electoral laws.

Concerning a proposal under which winning candidates on the opposition’s list would have to form a joint parliamentary group, Gulyás said that the current rules were correct and he was unaware of any plans to change them.

Regarding public transport, Gulyás said the government was “seeking an opportunity” to transfer public transport subsidies owed to the city of Budapest, but city leaders “won’t agree”. The funds are there, he said, but were being held up by disputes concerning the financing of local train sections within the city’s boundaries. “The city seems to be seeking dispute rather than agreement,” he added.

Gulyás confirmed the government treated Budapest as “the nation’s capital” and was supporting its development accordingly, especially given “the biggest railway development programme of the past 100 years” in the greater Budapest area totalling 1,000 billion forints.

Meanwhile, Gulyás said

that regional government offices would benefit from an extra 16 billion forints next year to cover a pay hike of 10 percent.

Gulyás said the past 10 years had been the Hungarian economy’s “most successful decade”, with local governments benefitting mostly thanks to road and public facility upgrades. He highlighted the Hungarian Village development programme, which, he said, had helped reverse negative demographic trends in 1,000 small villages.

coronavirus vaccine injection
Read alsoThird and fourth jabs to come? – This is what Hungarian virologists think

Third and fourth jabs to come? – This is what Hungarian virologists think

coronavirus vaccine injection

It seems more and more likely that a third and even a fourth jab will be necessary to preserve immunity against the coronavirus due to the concerning epidemic situation in Hungary and all across Europe. Hereby, we reveal what experts think about a possible third or a fourth jab. In addition, we can also learn about a Hungarian company that introduced a bonus system to increase vaccination among workers.

Another wave of coronavirus is raging across Europe. Unfortunately, Hungary is not an exception either where the number of daily infections and deaths caused by SARS-CoV-2 is continuously increasing.

According to the chief infectious disease specialist of the South Pest Central Hospital, János Szlávik, we cannot expect the epidemic situation to improve in the next two weeks. The expert has revealed that their intensive care unit is full, and 80-90% of the coronavirus patients treated there are unvaccinated. As the Hungarian news portal hvg.hu reports, this is one of the reasons why the virologist highlights the importance of vaccination. In addition, after receiving the first two jabs, one’s immunity might decrease by the passage of time.

Therefore, the central hospital tries to encourage people to take the third dose of the vaccine as well.

According to the expert, the necessity of a fourth jab may be discussed soon as it is possible that the population will have to vaccinate itself at certain intervals. This would enable the immune system to get refreshed every 4-6 months as well as it would provide protection against newer variants.

The virologist is not in favor of making vaccination compulsory. Szlávik believes that mandatory vaccinations should be introduced against diseases that can be completely eradicated such as smallpox. However, the coronavirus is an ongoing, changing disease that would be difficult to fight with mandatory vaccinations.

This is underpinned by a virologist from the University of Pécs. According to Ferenc Jakab, “the virus is certain to stay with us and the pathogen will be incorporated into the palette of upper respiratory infections.” The expert suggests that people check their antibody levels after the third jab. He also highlights that contrary to popular belief, excess level of antibodies does not exist. In addition, the lack of antibodies is not an issue either as the immune system defends itself on multiple fronts. Even if our antibody levels are low, the cellular immune response may work well against the virus.

The infectious disease specialist has pointed out that after six months, the effectiveness of vaccinations is reduced by 40%.

This also means that if the first jab was received more than half a year ago, the body’s susceptibility to coronavirus is almost equal to that of those who have not been vaccinated. Therefore, the third jab is also important because it can stimulate the immune system even after half a year. The expert has also pointed out that 85-89% of patients in need of hospital care are unvaccinated – reported the Hungarian news portal Világgazdaság. It is important to highlight that inoculated people can also get the infection; however, they can get through the disease with less serious symptoms and health consequences. On the other hand, unvaccinated people are more likely to face severe symptoms if they get infected.

As we previously reported, some Hungarian employers made vaccination against COVID-19 mandatory for their workers. While several companies are still negotiating on the issue, the Hungarian Pannonia Bio company has come up with an incentive program to increase vaccination among workers. Accordingly,

the company has introduced a bonus scheme for vaccinated employees from 15th November and also makes inoculation mandatory for all workers (except employees with medical exemption).

As the Hungarian news portal Portfolio reports, the company pays a net bonus of EUR 473 (~HUF 175,000) after the first jab. A net bonus of EUR 473 (~HUF 175,000) will be paid for the second dose which will be given within the recommended time after the first dose.

Workers who have previously taken the two vaccinations can receive a net bonus of EUR 972 (~HUF 360,000) for taking the third jab. This also applies to those individuals who have already received the jab or plan to take the third dose by 1st January as well as to those who will take it as soon as possible after the recommended time. The maximum amount of the bonus available is EUR 972 (~HUF 360,000) net. The received jabs must be proved by vaccination certificate. Workers who do not take the vaccine by 1st January will be sent on unpaid leave. The company pointed out that its aim is to make the workplace as safe as possible.

National vaccination campaign gets under way
Read alsoNational vaccination campaign gets under way

More soldiers assigned to help vaccination, 171 Covid-19 deaths in Hungary – latest numbers

Vaccination campaign in Hungary.

Altogether 171 patients died of a Covid-related illness during the past 24 hours, while 6,518 new coronavirus infections were registered, koronavirus.gov.hu said on Tuesday.

So far 6,043,116 people have received a first jab, while 5,801,593 have been fully vaccinated. Fully 1,939,582 Hungarians have received a booster jab.

The number of active infections stands at 147,558, while

hospitals are treating 6,830 Covid-19 patients, 663 of whom need respiratory assistance.

Since the first outbreak, 1,032,215 infections have been registered, while

the number of fatalities has risen to 33,343.

Fully 851,314 people have made a recovery.

There are 49,737 people in official quarantine, while the number of tests taken stands at 8,157,875.

More soldiers assigned to help out staff at vaccination points

The Hungarian Armed Forces has assigned more soldiers to help out staff at Hungary’s designated coronavirus vaccination points during this week’s national vaccination campaign, the defence ministry said on Monday.

Another 480 soldiers have been assigned to hospitals and health-care institutions in addition to the 300 who have been assisting the Covid response efforts,

the ministry said in a statement.

This means there are now some 800 soldiers supporting the health-care system at 79 locations, it said.

The soldiers assigned to the hospitals help out with logistical tasks, temperature screenings, directing patients to the right place as well as with administrative and transportation tasks.

Teacher coronavirus
Read also“Education descending into ruins” – Hungarian teachers refuse to take mandatory jab

Breaking! – Designated vaccination points will be open to everyone in Hungary

Hungary’s chief medical officer has urged the Hungarian public to get vaccinated with a third shot, explaining that more antigens are needed in the body in light of new variants of the coronavirus.

Cecília Müller, in an interview to public radio on Sunday, highlighted the national vaccination campaign in the coming week.

People who want a first, second or third jab can turn up at one of many designated vaccination points from 7am to 7pm without having to register or make an appointment she said.

Müller said it was evident that vaccination was the best way for people to protect themselves against Covid-19.

“Education descending into ruins” – Hungarian teachers refuse to take mandatory jab

US Centre for Disease Control: Hungary among most dangerous destinations

“I trust that concerns, misconceptions and misinformation will be trumped by common sense,” she said.

However, protection lasts for 4-6 months, she said, compared with the previous estimates of around a year, adding that the genetic makeup of the virus had changed considerably since the emergence of the original Wuhan strain, thus necessitating more intensive antigenic activity to ensure protection.

Hungary face mask Budapest
Read alsoFrom Saturday wearing masks in enclosed spaces will be compulsory in Hungary!