The Hungarian government has reached a deal with Russia to buy a “large quantity”
“I am happy to announce that today we signed an agreement under which Hungary can purchase a large amount of vaccine from Russia in three tranches,” said Peter Siyarto, adding that further details on the agreement – namely specific data on when the first vaccines will be created – will be delivered – will be released later.
“Hungary’s national interest is to speed up vaccinations. Due to the slow arrival of vaccines so far, this is only possible if we buy effective and safe vaccines from another source, “he added.
The Hungarian government has complained about what it sees as the slow arrival of vaccines approved and purchased by the European Union as a whole.
The bloc had agreed to distribute vaccines at the same pace and proportionately, but on Friday on local radio, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán blamed Brussels for the slow spread and urged the European Medicines Agency to approve other vaccines, such as the Oxford / AstraZeneca candidate.
“Hungarians need the vaccine, not an explanation,” he said.
Some context: Orban is facing potentially close parliamentary elections in 2022, and his government is stepping up its rhetoric as it tries to see itself as coping well with the country’s coronavirus epidemic.
The country reported 1,311 new cases of Covid-19 on Friday and 98 additional deaths from the virus. A total of 356,973 have contracted the virus in the country and 11,713 have died from Covid-19.
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