Hungary starts administering fourth dose of Covid vaccine

Budapest, Jan 18: About 30 people, including a 102-year-old man, have received the fourth Covid-19 vaccine dose in Hungary following the government's green light for people aged 60 and above a few days earlier, the president of the Clinical Center of the University of Pecs has said.

Andor Sebestyen said that his center had received numerous phone calls and messages from people interested in taking the fourth vaccine dose even before the government's January 13 announcement, Xinhua news agency reported.

He said it was particularly important for older people who suffer from one or more chronic diseases (such as cardiovascular disease, chronic lung disease, diabetes or cancer) to get vaccinated.

The decision on the introduction of the fourth jab in Hungary follows a sudden surge in infections, largely attributed to the Omicron variant.

In the last three days (the authorities in Hungary provide daily figures on weekdays only), 21,219 new coronavirus cases were recorded, taking the national tally to 1,348,233, the government's coronavirus information website said.

During this period, the country's death toll rose by 270 to 40,507. Currently, 2,630 Covid-19 patients are hospitalised, including 228 on ventilators, while 1,169,775 people have recovered.

To date, 6,319,434 people in Hungary have received at least one vaccine shot, 6,059,382 people have had both, and 3,417,089 people have received their booster shot, according to the website.