Chief Medical Officer says third coronavirus wave is afoot in Hungary
UK coronavirus variant not dominant in Hungary yet
Awaiting the press briefing of the Operational Corps to start, public television M1 broadcast an interview it had on Wednesday with Béla Merkely, rector of the Semmelweis Medical University, who said the following:
- According to their tests, 5 out of 80 positive COVID-19 tests showed the UK variant, so it is not yet dominant in Hungary;
- R0 (basic reproduction number) is now estimated to be slightly over 1.0 in Hungary and if all the restrictions were to be lifted now it would jump to 2.7, as in the case of the UK variant R0 is around 3 or 4;
- If R0 was around 4 (it is a dynamic indicator that keeps changing), herd immunity could be reached in Hungary only if 75% of the population became immune via infection or vaccination. Herd immunity could be reached with a lower ratio too if R0 is lower.
CMO: pandemic situation getting worse
CMO Cecília Müller said various epidemiological indicators show a worsening trend, adding that the jump in the number of new cases yesterday "is particularly noteworthy". The higher number of people with coronavirus infection in hospitals and on ventilators is "a warning that the pandemic continues and shows an ascending trend again all over Europe."
Müller said Hungary’s National Public Health Authority (NNK) is examining China’s Sinopharm vaccine, 550,000 doses of which were delivered to the country on Tuesday.
She added that experts have also received the vaccine’s documentation and will soon issue guidelines on its use and information for patients.
Müller said health experts were also studying the virus’s various mutations. Laboratory tests have so far identified 193 cases of the UK variant of the virus in Hungary, she said, adding that mutations originating from South Africa and Brazil have not yet been detected. Though the UK variant does not appear to produce more severe symptoms than the most common form of the virus, it is able to spread faster, she noted.
AstraZeneca vaccine on its way, but less than expected
Hungary is to receive another batch from the COVID-19 vaccine developed by AstraZeneca and Oxford University on Thursday evening, said Müller. However, instead of 88,000 doses only 83,500 will be delivered, which is enough for the inoculation of 41,750 people. Authorities plan to use this shipment for vaccination next week, and the doses will be made at GPs disposal, she added. Nearly 23,000 people are going to get their shots this week from the previous shipment.
Is it the third wave yet?
"I believe the third wave has started," Müller responded to a question. She noted that the second wave that started in the autumn has not petered out only the number of new confirmed cases showed stagnation for 7 to 10 days, and then it started to rise back up again.
The worsening pandemic situation is attested by the data, so we can say this is the start of the third wave
, she stated.
