Hungary turns to CHINA for Covid jabs in wake of EU’s vaccine shambles, after already agreeing deal to buy Russia’s Sputnik V
- Hungary looking at buying vials of China’s Sinopharm vaccine, Viktor Orban says
- Comes after country purchased 1million doses of Russia’s Sputnik V vaccine
- Hungary, an EU country, has gone elsewhere amid bloc’s shambolic jabs roll-out
- Orban has bluntly told EU ‘we don’t want an explanation, we want a vaccine’
Hungary is looking at buying coronavirus vaccines from China amid the EU’s slow and shambolic jabs roll-out, Prime Minister Viktor Orban has said.
Orban said he could put pen to paper on a deal for Sinopharm jabs as early as Saturday, having already inked a contract for 1million of Russia’s Sputnik V jabs.
Hungary would be the first European Union country to accept a Chinese vaccine, if it is approved by Hungarian authorities.
Viktor Orban has said Hungary could put pen to paper on a deal to buy Chinese Sinopharm jabs as early as Saturday, amid the EU’s slow and shambolic vaccine roll-out
Orban said he is closely watching a roll-out of the Sinopharm vaccine in neighbouring Serbia (pictured), and is ready to buy 1million doses of the jab if it goes well
The EU has been left red-faced over its vaccine programme which is one of the slowest in the world, lagging far behind the recently-departed UK.
One German newspaper even went so far as to brand it ‘an advert for Brexit’ this week. Hungary signing a Chinese contract would be a major PR coup for Beijing.
Orban, who is no ally of Brussels, announced the possibility of a deal with China on state radio on Friday, after the jabs started rolling out in neihgbouring Serbia.
This month, Serbia received one million doses of Sinopharm’s COVID-19 vaccine, becoming the first European country to start a mass inoculation programme with it.
Hungary, which last week became the first EU member to buy Russia’s Sputnik V vaccine, has also been in talks to buy the Sinopharm drug.
It said the first shipment could comprise up to one million doses.
Orban said on Friday that the deal could be signed imminently, and he would choose the Chinese vaccine as he trusted it the most.
The EU has been left red-faced after its jabs programme was hit by delays and red-tape while the recently-departed UK’s programme surged ahead (pictured)
He said if Hungary could get hold of the Chinese vaccine, it could inoculate around 1.7 million people by March. It has so-far vaccinated just 162,000.
Lashing out at EU leaders earlier this week, Orban told them that ‘we don’t want an explanation, we want a vaccine.’
Orban’s government is under pressure to reopen the economy as soon as possible after last year’s pandemic-driven crash led to its worst recession since the global financial crisis. Hungary holds a national election next year.
On Thursday the government published a decree, accelerating the approval process for vaccines, saying emergency use approval would be given to any shot already administered to at least a million people.
The Hungarian drug regulator has not yet approved Sinopharm’s vaccine.