Here is what will happen in Hungary once 5 million people are vaccinated
The curfew seems to be the worst (or the least effective) of the coronavirus restrictions: one-third of Hungarians want it to end as soon as the number of vaccinated people reaches 5 million.
As napi.hu reports, based on a representative survey carried out by Pulzus Research, approximately one-fifth of Hungarians support easing any of the current restrictions once we hit the 5 million mark, except for the curfew which 33% want to see gone. The options, out of which respondents could choose multiple, were the following:
- Being allowed to attend concerts (for those vaccinated);
- Being allowed to host wedding receptions with any number of guests (for those vaccinated);
- Stores can stay open as long as they want (for those vaccinated);
- Opening swimming pools and other sports venues to everyone;
- Complete cessation of the curfew.
The first four were supported by 19, 20, 22, and 23% of respondents respectively.
Surprisingly, 41% of Hungarians polled voted for the option “neither”, saying that they would not make these steps conditional on the number of vaccinated individuals.
According to napi.hu, the large proportion of those who do not want the reopening to depend on vaccination could be partially explained by the fact that 18% of Hungarians are anti-vaccine, based on the data of the National Statistics Bureau. Another possible reason for the prevalence of this answer is that some may think that the previous measures came too early and we should not risk another great wave of infections.
There were no significant differences between the responses of men and women; however, those possessing a college or university degree were more in favour of keeping restrictions in place regardless of the number of vaccinated individuals than those with a high school diploma or less.
The residents of Budapest were also less enthusiastic about any of these possible measures than those living elsewhere,
except for putting an end to the curfew, which 32% of them supported, which is essentially the same as the nationwide average.
Contrary to PM Orbán’s plan to vaccinate 5 million people by mid-May and 7 million by early June, the finish line seems to be quite far away. As Telex pointed out, on the 6 May, there was already a gap of approximately 600,000 between the planned and the actual number of vaccinated individuals. According to the latest data released by the government, approximately 4,725,000 people have signed up for the vaccine; therefore, the biggest obstacle in reaching the 7 million mark, which is the necessary minimum for herd immunity, is likely to be not the lack of vaccines but the lack of willing individuals.
Source: napi.hu, Telex