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Other candidates being considered in Hungary include a vaccine produced in China. Opponents of Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban claim that the decision to use “vaccines from the east” does not lie in concerns about Hungary’s health, but in elementary politics, writes svoboda.org.
The first small shipment of Sputnik V has already arrived in Hungary, more than a week ago, Peter Szijjarto, head of the country’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade, told parliament. According to the country’s head of diplomacy, the vaccine was accompanied by all the necessary documents and control tests will be carried out in Hungary to show whether Sputnik V is safe, effective and can be recommended for mass vaccination of Hungarian citizens.
The head of the Hungarian Foreign Ministry reiterated the arguments of the Russian vaccine developers that the third phase of clinical trials of the vaccine is currently underway, during which 92% of vaccines are being demonstrated. efficacy (more recently, the Russian Direct Investment Fund has published new information that the vaccine is 95% effective).
Mr. Szijjarto assures that the Hungarian authorities are closely monitoring the situation with the development of the vaccine in the West and are ready to use it as soon as possible. Only Hungary still tends to trust the East, including China.
“I spoke by phone with my colleague from China, we agreed to continue consultations. As soon as the vaccine developed by the Chinese reaches the stage where it can be delivered to Hungary, we will carry out the necessary research,” says the head of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs from Hungary.
An earlier shipment of Sputnik V vaccines for mass vaccination will be said in the second half of January, according to an agreement with the Ministry of Health of the Russian Federation, if Hungarian officials have no doubts about clinical and laboratory trials.
As little is known about the vaccine produced in China so far, and Sputnik V is already in Hungary, the debate on how to protect the country’s population from COVID-19 is mainly related to the Russian vaccine.
Virologist Gabor Kemeneši from the University of Szeged does not question the professional competence of his Russian colleagues, but points out that there is a risk of “vaccination nationalism”, according to the academic himself.
In other words, the deciding factor in evaluating Sputnik V will not be the results of the investigation and the safety of those vaccinated, but the geopolitical motives of the Orban government.
During a recent parliamentary debate to fight the coronavirus pandemic, some opposition MPs in the country offered their ruling party counterparts volunteers to test a Russian-made vaccine.
The reaction of the authorities did not really reassure the critics, quite the contrary.
Representatives of the ruling Fides party have always taken a measured but politically clear position on this issue. “Obviously, if an effective vaccine comes first in the East, then neither the lobbyists in Brussels nor the major European pharmaceutical companies (such as Big Pharma) will in any way force us to abandon the decision to buy such a vaccine in Hungary”, said the Hungarian Trade and Foreign Trade Council. Tomašas Menceris, Head of Information Management of the Ministry.
Hungarian Prime Minister Orban himself states that “the West is opposed to the Russian-made vaccine for ideological reasons” and even (in fact, it is not the first time) uses the term “puppeteer”, which, according to the politician, is responsible for the constant attacks on Hungary. is a billionaire of American and Hungarian descent, the philanthropist George Soros.
“It is definitely not up to Soros to decide which vaccine is good and which is not. This is decided by the laboratories and the people who will be able to choose the vaccine they want, ”said the prime minister in an interview with Hungarian state radio a week ago.
The European Medicines Agency notes that Hungary’s actions as a member of the European Union go against European practices for licensing vaccines.
“There are questions as to why a member state of the European Union wants to offer its citizens a vaccine that has not been developed and recommended by the European Medicines Agency,” the European Commission said in a statement.
The only problem is that there is no direct ban on the importation of country-specific treatment and prevention measures in European Union law, Brussels acknowledges.
The Hungarian opposition draws attention to the fact that Mr. Orban has expressed his determination to use the Sputnik V vaccine precisely in the context of the ongoing conflict between the European Union and the conservative Polish and Hungarian authorities.
Budapest and Warsaw recently blocked the budget approved by the European Union, including a special budget of 750 billion euros. a fund to combat the effects of the pandemic. The protests of Hungary and Poland led to the decision of the other Member States of the European Union to bind the access of each of the Member States to the Union budget with respect for general law.
Brussels has long accused the government formed by Fides and Justice and Justice of violating these rules: the judicial reform in Poland, the new media law in Hungary and many other decisions. A formal investigation has been launched into the actions of both governments against, according to Brussels, the independence of the judiciary and freedom of the press.
It is also difficult to forget the extremely rich history of the Orban government’s cooperation with the Kremlin, and not only with the Kremlin, but also with other authoritarian regimes, especially China and Turkey. It is worth mentioning the contract with Rosatom for the construction of new reactors at the Paks nuclear power plant in Hungary (the project is estimated at 12.5 billion euros).
The borrowing conditions granted to Hungary by the International Investment Bank of Russia, a former Council for Mutual Economic Assistance from the communist era, also criticized the European Union and the United States. The bank’s management is suspected of being related to Russian special services. Orban advocates Budapest’s promotion of the Eastern Vector policy on the grounds that, as he said in one of his speeches in September, “The West has lost its appeal in the eyes of Central Europe. Our way of life does not seem acceptable to West “.
Orban has repeatedly called himself an advocate of “illiberal democracy”, although, according to German political analyst Faulker Wagner, the definition of “democratically legitimate autocracy” would be more appropriate.
Be that as it may, the situation regarding the importation of Sputnik V into Hungary arose in a rather specific political context. And the Hungarians themselves want to be vaccinated against COVID-19, and it does not matter if it is Russian or any other vaccine.
According to a recent opinion poll, only 18% of respondents expressed their willingness to vaccinate as soon as a safe vaccine is developed, approved, and hits the market. 50 percent Hungarians have declared that they do not intend to do so, and another 25%. he admitted that he “will wait to see how the vaccine works first.”
According to data from November 24, 182 thousand people have been infected with the new coronavirus since the start of the pandemic in Hungary. more than 4 thousand people died, 44 thousand recovered.
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