Why Hungary uses Russian and Chinese vaccines
Expert debate on Hungary's decision to use Russian and Chinese vaccines against Covid. What emerged from the Piazza Pulita broadcast on La7
In Hungary, the administration of the Russian Sputnik V vaccine and the Chinese produced by Sinopharm has begun. The country, which participates together with other member states in the distribution of Moderna , Astra Zeneca and Pfizer vaccines, was the first in Europe to purchase Sputnik V and has also ordered five million doses from Beijing . For a population of 10 million, that's a huge amount. Currently Hungary has vaccinated 1.37% of the population. In recent weeks, the number of infections and coronavirus patients in hospitals has returned to rise, raising fears for the arrival of a third wave of the virus.
Sputnik V ready for take-off in Hungary
Szlavik Janos , infectious disease specialist at South-Pest Hospital Center in Budapest, interviewed by the broadcast of La7 Piazza Pulita , reassures about the effectiveness of the Russian vaccine. “I must remember that in the event of a health emergency all European states have the right to procure and use non-certified vaccines – he said during the broadcast by Corrado Formigli -. Sputnik is a very modern vaccine and works very similar to the Astra Zeneca vaccine ”. In the past months Budapest has often clashed with Brussels criticizing the slowness in approving vaccines and in procuring the necessary doses. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said there are no reliable data on the Russian and Chinese vaccine . On this point, prof. Janos. “The effectiveness is proven by the documents provided by the Russian offices and the prestigious English magazine Lancet attributes an effectiveness of 91.6% to it – continues the Hungarian professor -. In addition, Sputnik is currently in use in other countries and is administered to millions of people. This is already enough as proof of its effectiveness and reliability. ”The Chinese vaccine: reliability of a traditional vaccine
Hungarian President Viktor Orban said the Chinese vaccine is his favorite of those on the market and that he hopes to receive the first dose soon, perhaps as early as next week. In mid-February, Hungary received a first supply of 575,000 doses of the Chinese vaccine . According to European rules, Hungary will not be able to distribute the Sinopharm vaccine in other countries of the Union. “The Chinese Sinopharm vaccine bought from Hungary is produced with a known traditional technology – concluded prof. Janos -. Before introducing it on the market, Chinese experts checked the procedure and found it correct, so the Chinese vaccine already has the necessary authorizations to be administered in our country ". So far, EMA has only approved vaccines developed by Western companies , the only ones that have agreed to share data and results of their testing phases with European authorities.
The doubts of Professor Andrea Crisanti
Professor Andrea Crisanti , host of the Piazza Pulita broadcast, is skeptical about the use of vaccines not approved by the EMA. “I think that in a situation like this, if vaccines work there should be no reason not to use them – says the professor of the University of Padua -. However, an authorization problem remains. These vaccines were introduced after trials and verified with quality processes that are very different from those of the United States and the European Community . So we have a problem of total transferability of the process and this, theoretically, is a problem of the vaccine manufacturers who should present a dossier that can be judged by the EMA and the FDA ”. The crux, therefore, is not the effectiveness or otherwise of the Russian and Chinese vaccines, but the authorizations for distribution. “We have a system that protects us – concludes prof. Chrysants -. If the Russian and Chinese producers do not do it, these vaccines cannot be introduced on the market , the question is not whether they work or not ”.
This is a machine translation from Italian language of a post published on Start Magazine at the URL https://www.startmag.it/sanita/perche-lungheria-ricorre-ai-vaccini-russo-e-cinese/ on Sat, 27 Feb 2021 07:36:34 +0000.