Hungary is in talks with China, Russia and Israel on buying vaccines against the coronavirus once they are developed, Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó said on Monday.
Data regarding the spread of the virus is “worrying” worldwide, Szijjártó said on Facebook. A vaccine could lead to a breakthrough in combating the pandemic, he said as quoted by MTI.
Research is in its final stages in Russia and China, and vaccines may be ready for commercial use within “weeks or months,” Szijjártó said.
Szijjártó talked by phone with Russian Trade and Industry Minister Denis Manturov and Minister of Health Mikhail Murashko. “We agreed to stay in contact to clear up issues regarding test results, permit procedures and the wide-ranging use of vaccines,” the foreign minister of Hungary said.
Meanwhile, Hungary has also contacted the authorities in Israel, where research is also under way, Szijjártó said.
Hungary could receive its first shipment of the vaccine against Covid-19 in late December or early January, Prime Minister Viktor Orbán said last Friday.
In his regular interview to public broadcaster Kossuth Radio, Orbán said that those suffering from chronic illnesses and the elderly population most vulnerable to the virus could be vaccinated around January.
In the meantime Chief Spokesperson of the European Commission Eric Mamer said as quoted by Euractiv that “there is no question that any vaccine that is or could be made available on the territory of the European Union would have to comply both with the quality standards that are expected for these types of products in the EU and follow the approval procedures that are in course in the European Union.” /newswires – argumentum.al
