Hungary Requires Third Dose Of COVID-19 Vaccination For Medical Workers

JAKARTA - Hungary will provide an option for a third dose of the COVID-19 vaccine starting August 1. The government also requires vaccination of all medical workers, Prime Minister Viktor Orban told state radio.

Orban said doctors would assign the vaccine to a third dose and that that dose should be given at least four months after the second dose, unless the doctor advised not to.

Hungary, with a population of 10 million, was one of the fastest countries in the European Union to vaccinate its citizens and the only one to widely deploy a Russian and Chinese-made COVID-19 vaccine before it was approved by the bloc's regulators.

Hugaria, quoted by Reuters, also uses vaccines made in Western countries produced by Pfizer, Moderna and AstraZeneca.

As of Thursday, July 15 the authorities had vaccinated more than 5.55 million residents as the total number of cases rose to 808,661 with 30,031 deaths.

Hungary's vaccination efforts have been slow in recent weeks. Orban said the first week of September, before the new school year begins, the COVID-19 vaccine will be given to children aged 12-16 years in all schools.