Covid back on the rise in Hungary, but new vaccine won't be available until November

According to information provided to the newspaper by the National Public Health and Medical Center (NNGYK),

the Covid vaccine will be available in Hungary from November.

In line with the WHO's May recommendation, the agency has already started procuring the vaccine and will provide detailed information on its availability at a later date.

GPs are currently seeing 1.5 times more patients than during the summer period. Attila Keczéry, a GP in Zugló, told Népszava that he tests all patients who come to him with upper respiratory complaints and

is now diagnosing Covid infection in every second case.

Data from the NNGYK also confirm the increase in acute respiratory infections and Covid cases. Typical symptoms of the disease include cough, sore throat, nasal congestion, headache, fatigue, and, less commonly, fever or digestive complaints. The agency recommends compliance with hygiene rules until the vaccine arrives.

At a scientific conference organized by the Semmelweis University Center for Epidemiology and Surveillance, Director Beatrix Oroszi pointed out that

mistrust of vaccines has grown significantly since the end of the Covid pandemic.

At the event, epidemic mathematicians, sociologists, and epidemiologists analyzed the process of loss of trust and the rise of anti-vaccination sentiment.

"Although vaccination coverage for mandatory childhood diseases is high in Hungary, acceptance of voluntary vaccinations (such as the COVID vaccine) is higher (42%) than the proportion of people who actually get vaccinated (22% among those over 65)," said Beatrix Oroszi.

Looking at data from the past 14 years, the 2023-2024 season saw the lowest number of free flu vaccines administered, with only 600,000 requested, three-quarters of whom were over the age of 60. Research shows that willingness to be vaccinated among the elderly would increase significantly if their family doctor recommended it.

Beatrix Oroszi emphasized that people continue to trust doctors and healthcare workers the most. In her opinion, the task of healthcare professionals who are in direct contact with patients is not to convince anti-vaxxers, but rather to reassure those whom anti-vaxxers are trying to unsettle.

The Covid-19 positivity rate peaked at 34.4% on the 40th week of 2024, but remained lower than in the previous two respiratory seasons all the way.

In the previous respiratory season, Covid was the prime reason behind hospitalisations for about ten weeks, but after the 11th week, the main reason why people had to be hospitalised with severe acute respiratory infection (SARI) was respiratory syncytial virus (RSV).

Covid vaccine, anyone? Elderly Hungarians: Nah, we're good!

For the age group 60 years and above, approximately 13.6 million people received a dose of COVID-19 vaccine. The median coverage among people in this age group was 8.7%, with high variation across countries. Among the 21 countries reporting data for this target group, none reported a coverage ≥80%.

In the 60-69 age group Hungary had the lowest vaccination coverage rate (VCR) of just 0.1%.

In the 70-79 age group, Sweden (62.2%) and Finland (60.3%) crossed the 60% mark, while

Hungary finished last with an 0.6% VCR.

For the age group 80 years and above, approximately four million people received a dose of COVID-19 vaccine. The median coverage among people in this age group was 8.5%, with high variation across countries. Among the 21 countries reporting data for this target group, only one country reported a coverage ≥ 80% (Sweden 83.5%).

Coverage in Hungary was the lowest at just 0.9%.

Uptake

According to the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control, aross the 21 reporting countries, approximately 15.5 million COVID-19 vaccine doses have been administered during the reporting period among the total population (Table 3). Around 11 million doses (73.3% of the total doses administered) were the Pfizer BioNTech – Comirnaty JN.1 vaccine.

• Around 981 000 doses (6.3% of the total doses administered) were the Pfizer BioNTech – Comirnaty KP.2 vaccine.
• Approximately 505 000 doses (3.3% of the total doses administered) were the Moderna - Spikevax JN.1 vaccine.
• Approximately 1 871 000 doses (12.1% of the total doses administered) were reported as ‘other vaccine product’.
• The remaining administered doses (approximately 764 000 doses, representing the 4.9% of the total doses administered) were reported as ‘unknown vaccine product’.

Cover photo (for illustration purposes only): Getty Images