At the end of December, health-care workers in Hungary began receiving the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine against COVID-19. As more vaccines enter the country, a plan has been announced, outlining who will receive them first. It is also important to note that those wishing to receive the vaccine should have a TAJ Hungarian health card in order to register. Injections are voluntary.
In
an interview with Kossuth Rádió, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán has announced that Hungary currently has
enough vaccines to immunise 35,000 people, with health-care workers first in line.
In
fact, inoculation has already begun, with doctors, nurses and other health-care
staff receiving the first injections, so far about 12,000 workers in all. A detailed plan has been laid out (Hungarian-only) by the National
Health Centre (Nemzeti Népegészségügyi Központ) regarding the roll-out of
vaccines to the general public.
It states: “Vaccination against Covid-19
will be available for anyone over 18 with a valid TAJ Card who has not been
diagnosed with Covid-19 in the past six months (whether or not they have had a
symptomatic illness).”
This means that anyone who contracted the coronavirus
and recovered in the spring wave will be able to be vaccinated.
The
inoculation plan is as follows:
1. Health-care workers (including medical students or students in health-related fields of education, and pharmacists or pharmacists' assistants)
2. Social workers and recipients of social benefits
3. Those over 60
4. Law enforcement officers
5. 18-59 year olds with increased risk factors
6. Critical infrastructure workers
7. All 18-59 year olds who do not fall into the above risk groups
To register for the vaccine, head to the Vakcinainfó website (Hungarian-only) and provide your name, address, age, TAJ number and contact information. Nearly 600,000 individuals have already registered.
