Hungary starts anti-COVID immunisation with third dose and requires mandatory vaccination for healthcare professionals

Prime Minister Viktor Orban on Friday that Hungary would give its citizens the option of immunising themselves with a third dose of vaccine against COVID-19 from 1 August. At the same time, he said vaccination would become for all healthprofessionals, according to Reuters, as cited by Agerpres.

The measures were required in the context of the risks associated with the Delta variant of the coronavirus.

According to Orban, doctors will decide which vaccine should be used as a third dose. It will be given at least four months apart from the second, if doctors do not recommend otherwise.

The Hungarian prime minister has warned that because of the Delta variant, people who have not yet been vaccinated are in more bitter danger than they have been before.

Older people who have not been vaccinated so far will also be visited to be convinced, the prime minister said.

At the same time, in the first days of the new school year, 1-2 September, all students between the ages of 12 and 16 will be able to vaccinate.

According to the Prime Minister, so far, 13-14% of 12-15 year olds have already been immunized, as well as about 45% of 16-18 year olds.

Hungary, a country of 10 million people, has vaccinated more than 5.55 million people and had among the fastest immunization campaigns in the European Union, but the pace has slowed in recent weeks, Reuters reports.

Hungary was also the only EU state to use vaccines from Russia and China, although they were not approved by the European Medicines Agency.

The neighbouring country also uses vaccines from Pfizer/BioNTech, Moderna and AstraZeneca.

Since the beginning of the pandemic, Hungary has reported 808,661 cases of coronavirus infection and 30,013 deaths.  the first time