President János Áder has urged Hungarians to register for vaccination against Covid-19, stressing that this was the only way to shield themselves from the virus which will “find everyone”.
During his latest environmental Blue Planet podcast, the president welcomed that the number of people inoculated in Hungary is getting close to 6 million which he said has eased the burden on the country’s hospitals and allowed everyday life to get back to normal. “However, the next wave of the pandemic is around the corner which is why I urge those who have not been vaccinated yet to go and register to get their first jab since the course of this disease is hard to predict,” the president said, noting that Hungary has sufficient supplies of Covid-19 vaccines in stock.
Speaking on the program as the president’s guest, Béla Merkely, the rector of Budapest’s medical Semmelweis University, said he expected the new Delta variant of the virus to be aggressive and affect most seriously those who have not received any vaccine at all. “I expect the coronavirus to disappear one day, but this autumn its spread will certainly pick up in Hungary again,” he said. He attributed the favorable pandemic situation in Hungary compared with other countries in Europe partly to the use of eastern vaccines. The professor said he would advise those aged under 18 to get inoculated, adding that his advice to pregnant women is to get either Pfizer’s or Moderna’s jab.