This past Sunday evening, Prime Minister Viktor Orbán gave an exclusive interview on commercial TV2 channel’s news program Tények in which he said that we are now much closer to developing a vaccine than during the first wave of the coronavirus. He added that while bureaucrats in Brussels estimate they will have a vaccine by mid-2021, Americans believe that it could be done by the end of this year.
“We are in continuous negotiations with American, Japanese, Chinese and Russian vaccine developers and have invested in European research programs as well,” PM Orbán said.
The prime minister said that it is always possible to repair the economy, “but lives lost cannot be returned.” This is why, according to Orbán, it is of the utmost importance that we take good care of our elderly citizens, as they are at the highest risk.
Pointing to the significance of specific state functions, the PM said that while our healthcare and education systems are under grave pressure, “Together we will succeed in defeating the second wave of the pandemic.” “Let us not forget,” PM Orbán reminded viewers, “that in the spring we were among the top 20-25 countries in terms of the quality of our defense against the coronavirus.”
In the national consultation, the Hungarian people have made it clear that they want to continue the defense, but, at the same time, the country must continue to function. “If healthcare workers can bear the increasing burden, then we will succeed. Today, people are obeying the rules much more than they did during the summer,” Prime Minister Orbán said. This crisis might be hard on doctors and nurses, but every healthcare institution has the necessary tools, beds and ventilators.
Turning to the protection of jobs, the PM said that “if we have jobs, we have everything.” He also proposed that, in light of the crisis, the wages of community workers should be increased in 2021.
“There are more people working today than in January or March. There are 4.5 million people working today, while 10 years ago, this number was only 3.6 million,” Prime Minister Orbán concluded.
Photo credit: TV2