Hungary refused to buy the coronavirus vaccine from Russia, despite the existing agreements. This was reported on Thursday, December 31, by Reuters citing the head of the Hungarian Prime Minister’s administration .
As the agency notes, the main reason for this decision was insufficient vaccine production capacity. As a result, the country plans to establish vaccine procurement through the supply mechanisms EU or directly from China.
Earlier, Reuters reported that in early December Hungary received the first samples of the Russian Sputnik V vaccine. Later it became known that in total the country received 6 thousand doses of the vaccine from Russia. At the same time, the Hungarian side admitted that Sputnik V is being produced taking into account the latest technologies and in accordance with the protocols World healthcare organizations .
Hungary’s decision to purchase Russian vaccine for the first time became known at the end of October. At the same time, the European Commission warned Budapest that in the event that any EU country purchases a foreign vaccine, not certified, action will be taken. They noted that vaccines developed by Russia or China will never become part of the EU vaccination strategy.