New conflict? Hungary began vaccinating health-care workers ignoring the EU’s plan

Hungary began inoculating its health-care workers against Covid-19 using the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine on Saturday. The first vaccine was administered by János Szlávik, head of the National Institute of Hematology and Infectology at Budapest’s South Pest Central Hospital.

The first shipment of Pfizer-BioNTech’s vaccine, which arrived in Hungary early on Saturday, contains 9,750 doses, enough to inoculate 4,875 health-care workers, the government’s coronavirus press centre has said.

Speaking to public media, Szlávik said Hungary was set to receive larger quantities of the vaccine in later shipments, emphasising the importance of this first batch when it comes to protecting health-care workers against the virus. He said numerous studies had affirmed the safety of the vaccine, adding, at the same time, that it may come with the same side effects experienced after other shots like pain at the point of injection,

a slight temperature the day after receiving the vaccine or muscle aches.

The health authorities will need to be most cautious in the cases of vaccine recipients who in the past have suffered a severe allergic reaction or shock after consuming certain foods or beverages, he added.

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Adrienne Kertész, head of the Department of Infection Control at South Pest Central Hospital, who was among the first to receive the vaccine, told public news broadcaster M1 that she had waited a long time to get the shot, adding that her ability to continue working safely depended on it.

Human Resources Minister Miklás Kásler also welcomed the arrival of the vaccine.

“Though we still have to wait to begin mass vaccinations,

today we took a significant step in terms of curbing the epidemic,”

Kásler said on Facebook.

Meanwhile, politico.eu says that the European Commission wanted all EU countries to start the inoculations on Sunday, December 27. It seems that Hungary disregarded that plan and

“became the first EU country to start vaccinating its citizens against the coronavirus.”

Featured image: illustration

Source: MTI, politico.eu