Hungary clears second Chinese jab for emergency use

Hungary has granted emergency use authorization for a vaccine from CanSino, making it the second China-developed COVID-19 shot approved in the European country, its medical chief said on Monday.

Apart from the CanSino vaccine, the National Institute of Pharmacy and Nutrition has also approved the use of CoviShield, a made-in-India version of the AstraZeneca vaccine, Hungarian Chief Medical Officer Cecilia Muller told a news conference.

"We will search the four corners of the world to have enough vaccines in the country," she said.

The Hungarian government has been enriching its inoculation program with multiple vaccines in the fight against a third wave of the coronavirus pandemic. So far, it has gained access to vaccines from five producers, including Chinese drugmaker Sinopharm.

The use of Russian and Chinese vaccines has greatly contributed to the acceleration of the Hungarian vaccine program, Hungarian Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Peter Szijjarto said.

"Vaccine is not a question of ideology for us, it is a matter of saving lives, and if we had not contracted Chinese and Russian vaccines, we could not have saved the health and lives of so many Hungarians," the minister said in a recent interview with Russia Today TV network.

Hungary, the first member of the European Union to purchase a Chinese vaccine, started to administer the Sinopharm vaccine on Feb 24.