Hungary Starts Using Chinese Vaccine In EU First

Budapest, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 24th Feb, 2021 ) :Hungary on Wednesday became the first EU nation to start using China's coronavirus Sinopharm vaccine, Prime Minister Viktor Orban said.

The country of 10 million has ordered around five million doses of the Chinese jab, and has already started inoculating its population with Russia's Sputnik V vaccine -- another EU first.

Budapest has repeatedly criticised what it says is the slow pace of vaccine procurement by the EU, which is says has forced it to look elsewhere for jabs.

Orban took to Facebook Wednesday to confirm the Sinopharm rollout.

"Today we begin to inoculate with the Chinese vaccines," he said in a video message.

Hungarian hospitals have seen an influx of coronavirus patients this month, with a reported 102 new deaths from Covid-19 on Wednesday, bringing the country's overall death toll to 14,552.

"A third wave of the virus is menacing Hungary," Orban said, urging citizens to get vaccinated.

Family doctors have received on average 50 to 55 inoculations per practice from the first batch of Sinopharm doses that arrived in Hungary earlier this month, Hungary's Chief Medical Officer Cecilia Muller said Wednesday.

"The Russian and Chinese vaccines have already been administered to more than 30 million people (worldwide) without any problems," she told reporters.

Some 275,000 Sinopharm jabs can be administered in the coming week, as well as 50,000 Pfizer-BioNTech and 40,000 AstraZeneca vaccines, Muller added.

"We have no reason for delay, each of the vaccines provide adequate protection," she said.

While Hungarians are among the least willing to get the shots in the EU, the rate has been rising in recent months.

Orban, who has said that Sinopharm is his preferred choice of vaccine, also said he hopes he can receive his shot "perhaps sometime next week".

The most popular vaccines among the five currently administered in Hungary are the Pfizer-BioNTech, Moderna, and AstraZeneca vaccines with the Russian and Chinese jabs least popular, according to surveys.