Whereas Israel is “nearly done” vaccinating its population and the United Kingdom has inoculated 30-40% of its people, the average vaccination rate in the European Union stands at 6.8%, the prime minister told public broadcaster Kossuth Rádió.

“This is a clear indication that something is not right,” Orbán said. “And this is not a political issue or accusation, nor any kind of antipathy towards EU or Brussels bureaucrats, but facts. This is how it is: they’ve messed up.”

These past weeks, the quantities of vaccine shipments ordered by the EU have either fluctuated or were not being delivered at all, he added.

Asked about plans by Austria, the Czech Republic, Slovenia, Bulgaria and Latvia to convene an EU summit on the distribution of vaccines, Orbán said the Austrian chancellor was right to want to discuss the matter.

He added that though member states had agreed that vaccines would be distributed proportionately, this had not been the case.

Had Hungary not ordered 3.5 million vaccines from China and Russia, “we’d be in big trouble right now,” Orbán said.


MTI Photo: Zsolt Szigetváry