Hungary shies away from Russian vaccine but criticizes EU

Hungary is unlikely to resort to the Russian vaccine against the novel coronavirus given the limited production capacities for Sputnik V, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban said on Sunday, while criticizing the European Union’s approach to the acquisition of vaccines.

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Accustomed to tensions with Brussels, Orban dispatched experts to monitor vaccine development in Russia and China, and received samples of the Russian vaccine Sputnik V.

“We know that the Russian vaccine is good, but there is not enough and there will probably not be enough in the future given the limited production capacities,” Orban said on Sunday in a report. interview with Hungarian public radio.

Compared to Sputnik V, “the Chinese (vaccine) is more promising, it seems that it will be available sooner and in greater quantities,” the premier said.

“Ideally, you will be able to choose whether you want to get vaccinated with a Western vaccine or a Chinese vaccine,” he added.

In November, Hungary boasted of being the first European country to receive test samples of the Russian vaccine.

The European Commission then issued a warning in Budapest, recalling that “a vaccine could only obtain marketing authorization after an in-depth study” by the regulator, the European Medicines Agency (EMA).

Viktor Orban said Sunday he was “not satisfied with the pace” of vaccine acquisition by the European Union.

“There were manufacturers whose products were available earlier in Canada, the UK and Israel than for example in the EU,” he regretted.

“But it’s Brussels’ job, they take care of it,” he added.

“We are taking care of the contact network in the East, because Brussels does not do it,” he said.

Often at odds with Brussels, which accuses it of undermining democratic values, the Hungarian government has once again distinguished itself by starting the vaccination campaign a day earlier than expected across the European Union.

After receiving his first delivery of the Belgian-made Pfizer-BioNTech coronavirus vaccine on December 26, he immediately began administering the vaccine, bypassing the joint EU debut that began a day later.

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