COVID-19_vaccination_in_Hungary

COVID-19 vaccination in Hungary

COVID-19 vaccination in Hungary

Plan to immunize against COVID-19

COVID-19 vaccination in Hungary is an ongoing immunization campaign against severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), the virus that causes coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), in response to the ongoing pandemic in the country.

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Vaccination program

Around 20.13% of the Hungarian citizens (based on the 2011 census [1][2] and the official vaccination statistics) have received, at least, one anti-COVID-19 injection, since 28 March 2021.

Background

Reports in March 2021 stated that Hungary was the first country in the EU to "begin using China's Sinopharm BIBP and Russia's Sputnik V vaccines, even as polling showed that public trust in non-EU approved vaccines was low".[3] The European Commission's Vaccine Passport plan excluded the Sputnik and Sinopharm products because they were not "EU authorized vaccines". One suggestion to resolve that issue was that "Russian and Chinese vaccine producers submit their products to the EMA for testing and authorization".[4] At the end of March 2021, Hungary also granted emergency use licenses to two more vaccines, CanSino (from China) and Covishield (the AstraZeneca vaccine produced by the Serum Institute of India).[5]

Vaccines on order

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Government response

On 17 March 2020, the Surgeon General announced that the National Safety Laboratory of National Health Security Center had successfully isolated COVID-19 from a Hungarian patient's sample, which it could use for the research and development of a new Hungarian vaccine.[6][7] A consortium founded by the Department of Immunology at the Faculty of Sciences of Eötvös Loránd University, the Institute of Biology at the Science Faculty of the University of Pécs, Richter Gedeon and ImmunoGenes is involved in international biotechnological developments.[8][9] Imre Kacskovics, leader of Immunology Department of ELTE, said the product currently in the first phase of development won't be a vaccine, but provide passive immunity. It will not prepare the body to fight against the virus.[10] Some days after the successful isolation, the Bioinformatic Research Team of Szentágothay János Research Center at the University of Pécs and the university's virologists made the genome of the new SARS-CoV-2 human coronavirus available in Hungary.[11][12]

References

  1. [1]
    "Területi adatok (Territorial data) – 2011 Census". Hungarian Central Statistical Office.
  2. [2]
    "2011 Hungary Census Report" (PDF). ksh.hu. Retrieved 18 May 2015.
  3. [3]
    Spike, Justin (12 March 2020). "Hungary emerges as an EU vaccination star amid surging cases". Associated Press. Retrieved 31 July 2021.
  4. [4]
    Vaski, Tamás (18 March 2021). "EC Vaccine Passport Proposal Excludes Sputnik and Sinopharm". Hungary Today. Retrieved 31 July 2021.
  5. [5]
    "CMO: Hungary's medicines authority grants licences for two more vaccines". About Hungary. 23 March 2021. Retrieved 6 August 2021.
  6. [6]
    "Magyarok izolálták a koronavírust – mit jelent ez?" [Hungarians isolate coronavirus – what happens next?]. 24.hu (in Hungarian). 17 March 2020. Retrieved 18 March 2020.
  7. [7]
    "Országos tisztifőorvos: sikeresen izolálták az NNK laborjában a koronavírust" [National Chief Medical Officer: coronavirus successfully isolated in NNK laboratory]. Koronavírus.gov.hu (in Hungarian). 17 March 2020. Retrieved 17 March 2020.
  8. [8]
    "Koronavírus – Magyar gyógyszerfejlesztés kezdődik" [Hungarian coronavirus drug development begins] (in Hungarian). Népszava. 14 March 2020. Retrieved 18 March 2020.
  9. [9]
    "Exkluzív részleteket tudtunk meg a koronavírus elleni magyarországi gyógyszer fejlesztéséről" [Exclusive: details of the first Hungarian coronavirus drug]. portfolio.hu (in Hungarian). 17 March 2020. Retrieved 18 March 2020.
  10. [10]
    "Magyar gyógyszert fejlesztenek a koronavírus ellen" [Developing the Hungarian coronavirus drug] (in Hungarian). Index.hu. 17 March 2020. Retrieved 1 August 2021.
  11. [11]
    "Megvan az első magyar koronavírus genom" [I have the first Hungarian coronavirus genome]. index.hu (in Hungarian). 21 March 2020. Retrieved 21 March 2020.
  12. [12]
    "Virológia Pécs". facebook.com (in Hungarian). Retrieved 21 March 2020.
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