Wow, Covid-19 Vaccine Scientists Turned Out To Be Hungarian Communist Spies

Catherine Kariko. (Twitter/@kkariko)

JAKARTA - Who would have thought, behind his phenomenal research, a biochemist whose work was an integral part of the development of vaccines for COVID-19, recognized himself as an asset to the security services during the Communist era of Hungary.

Katalin Kariko, whose work on mRNA technology was crucial to developing Pfizer and Moderna's COVID-19 vaccine, was recruited in 1978 when Hungary was under the Soviet-backed Communist regime of János Kádár.

Kariko, who is touted as a nobel prize-winning candidate, said he was blackmailed by hungary's feared State Security Service, which threatened to reveal his father's role in the revolution against Communist rule in 1956, making his career in medical research impossible.

But Kariko told Hungarian media that although she was registered as a spy agency, she had never actually given any reports while in Hungary or in the United States, where she has lived since 1985.

"In the following years, I did not give a written report, I did not hurt anyone. To continue my scientific and research activities, I have to go," he said in a statement as quoted by Euronews Thursday 25 May. Euronews has contacted Kariko for comment

Katalin Kariko (Source: wabe.org/Jessica Kourkounis)

Kariko's role as a registered informant has been in the public domain, since her name was listed in a book in 2017. However, it was highlighted this weekend by right-wing media outlets when he returned to Hungary to receive an award for his work on the Pfizer and Moderna COVID-19 vaccines.

Separately, Director general of the National Security Agency's historical archives, Gergő Bendegúz Cseh said there was no reason to doubt Kariko's claim that she never told anyone after her recruitment, saying that her job file was empty.

Meanwhile, Krisztián Ungváry, a researcher on previous state security documents, said it was rare for someone who was confronted about their role during the Communist era to admit what had happened, rather than lie about the past.

He also said it was clear Kariko was inactive after moving to the United States in 1985, quashing speculation that he could have been listed as a Hungarian spy while he was in America, as this would be flagged in his country's security files.

Between 1945 and the communist collapse of 1989, there were 160,000 to 200,000 Hungarians recruited by the security services. While in 1977, the year before Kariko was recruited, there were nearly 7,000 active agents. Until 32 years later, the role of the state security agency remained contentious and controversial in Hungary.

This weekend, Kariko was made an Honorary Citizen of Szeged, Hungary, where she began her university career, while a profile in the New York Times in April 2021 described Kariko as a hero in the fight against COVID-19.