Czech Republic intends to procure Russian vaccine after Hungary oversteps European Union
Czech Republic PM Andrej Babis said that the acquisition of COVID-19 vaccines should not be seen with a political lens, calling it is a matter of health
- World News
- 2 min read
The Czech Republic could become the second European nation to acquire the COVID-19 vaccine from Russia after Prime Minister Andrej Babis visited Hungary on Friday to enquire about the acquisition process. Hungary became the first European country last month to approve and acquire Russia's Sputnik-V COVID-19 vaccine. Babis visited Budapest on Friday to know more about Hungary's purchase of Sputnik-V and the acquiring process outside the EU's procurement framework.
Babis, after meeting with his Hungarian counterpart Viktor Orban, said that the acquisition of COVID-19 vaccines should not be seen with a political lens, calling it is a matter of health, adding his country is ready to procure any vaccine that is considered safe regardless of their origin. Babis was accompanied by his adviser and former Health Minister Roman Prymula. Hungary has also approved a vaccine developed by China's Sinopharm.
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The European Union has not approved the Russian and the Chinese vaccines for use in the region. However, Hungary granted an emergency use authorization to Sputnik-V and received its first batch of 40,000 doses on Friday, which it says will start administering soon. Hungary approved the Chinese vaccine last week and is expected to receive the doses soon. Both Hungary and Czech Republic have criticized the EU's vaccine rollout process, which has been hit by production and distribution delays.
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COVID-19 in the Czech Republic
The small European nation of Czechia has recorded more than 1 million COVID-19 cases and over 16,800 deaths so far. There are currently 95,196 active cases in the Czech Republic, of which 995 patients are under critical care. Although the daily infection rate in Czechia has dropped from its peak in early January, it is still relatively high and poses a significant risk to the health infrastructure. The new emerging variants of COVID-19, which scientists say are highly contagious, are making the situation worse in the country of over 10 million people. The country has administered more than 3,27,000 doses of vaccines to date.
(Image Credit: AP)