199,000 Pfizer Vaccine Doses Available to All
199 thousand doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine can be accessed through Hungary’s online registrations, with no SMS notification required, state secretary responsible for vaccination István György said.
In the government’s coronavirus press conference on Wednesday, István György said that anyone can register for the vaccine on the National eHealth Infrastructure’s (EESZT) website.
Previously people could only register if they received a text message notifying them of an opportunity opening up for a vaccine. This sudden notification could be a bit stressful, and opportunities for same-day registrations created chaos.
People Traveling Far for Pfizer Vaccine
The government has yet again made Hungary’s most popular Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine available for their mass vaccination campaign. Although this time the organization went smoothly, but in some places, especially in Budapest, many vaccination centers had quickly run out of stock, so people had to travel hundreds of kilometers to get the vaccine of their choice.
Last week, nearly 150,000 people in Hungary (mostly those who had already registered for a coronavirus vaccination by early March), received a text message informing them that they can now book an appointment for the Pfizer vaccine as well, alongside the other available Sinopharm, AstraZeneca, and Sputnik V.
More opportunities for Pfizer/BioNTech vaccinations can soon be made available once more of the vaccine arrives to Hungary, according to Minister of the Prime Minister’s Office Gergely Gulyás. The minister addressed Friday’s single-day Pfizer vaccination opportunity, saying that it made it clear that people are willing to vaccinate themselves if their preferred vaccine type is available. The availability of different vaccines appears to have an impact on people’s vaccination willingness, since Hungary’s inoculation rate has noticeably slowed down since Friday’s Pfizer wave.
Prime Minister Viktor Orbán announced last Friday morning that registration and vaccination for Pfizer/BioNTech would be available for that day alone, after which the vaccine would be set aside for 16-18-year-olds. He later added graduating teachers to this exclusion.
As the number of people who have received at least the first dose of the vaccine passed 4 million on Friday, new eased restrictions have entered force.