First vaccinations could start on 27-28 December
18. 12. 2020.
The administration of the vaccine against the coronavirus could start on 27-28 December. In the first round, vaccines enough for around 35,000 people will arrive in Hungary, and health care workers will be the first to be vaccinated, Prime Minister Viktor Orbán said on Friday on Kossuth Radio’s programme ‘Good morning, Hungary’.

Health care workers will be vaccinated in the South Pest Central Hospital and in county hospitals, he said, adding that he will ask health care workers to have themselves vaccinated in the largest possible numbers. At the same time, he pointed out that “at this point in time, this does not at all seem to be an overwhelming desire” on their part. He observed that they would like to maintain the voluntary nature of vaccination and would not like to force anyone to have themselves vaccinated. However, he would like to ask health care workers to protect themselves. Regarding further vaccines, he said registration will be relevant because when vaccines become available in mass quantities, they will follow the order in which people signed up for vaccination. Therefore, he asked members of the public to register.

Regarding the Christmas holidays, the Prime Minister said “this year, we’ll have a restrained Christmas,” during this year’s festivities, we will have to dispense with visiting relatives in order to preserve ourhealth. The usual big family celebrations could be held at perhaps Easter, he said. He added that the rules that will be applicable to Christmas Eve, 24 December are not clear year, they will decide on them at the Monday cabinet meeting. However, he would be happy if experts took the view that less stringent rules could be allowed on that one evening, including that in the rule regarding family gatherings of maximum 10 persons, children under the age of 14 should not count.

The Prime Minister took the view regarding the epidemic situation that while the numbers are not deteriorating, this is cold comfort, “we cannot report any truly liberating news”. In the summer, Hungary prepared thoroughly, a national consultation was held, they procured the necessary equipment, physicians and nurses prepared for the second wave, and as a result, health care is able to provide appropriate care for patients. At this time, the biggest enemy is fatigue among doctors and nurses, he observed.

He said border protection must be maintained, and repeatedly asked Hungarians not to plan ski holidays abroad. Mr Orbán also said on Saturday morning, he would like to make an announcement regarding the introduction from 1 January of new measures as part of the economy protection action plan that is aimed at eliminating the economic crisis brought on by the pandemic.

On the radio programme, the Prime Minister further highlighted that Hungarian national interests must be protected against George Soros and his network even more emphatically in the future. The Prime Minister pointed out that George Soros, “the world’s most corrupt man” attacked Hungary on multiple occasions, but what happened most recently – with active support from the Hungarian Left – is beyond the limit that a country could accept with a simple shrug of the shoulders. It is hardly normal at the end of the day, he continued, that Soros is working in Brussels to harm the Hungarian people wherever he can. And “it’s not right that we’re just sitting here, warding off these attacks, pretending that this is the most natural thing in the world,” he added, stressing that also on this occasion, he required nothing short of remarkable feats to ward off George Soros’s intention to cause Hungary to sustain losses in the magnitude of many billions of euros.

Mr Orbán highlighted that the European Parliament wants to take control of the EU as according to Members of the European Parliament, the EU is Brussels. At the same time, the heads of state and government take the view that the EU is in the national capitals; Brussels is not the centre, it is a mere consultation venue. Behind the European Parliament, “there is a network, this is where Soros and his people come into the picture,” and they have built strong positions within the European Parliament through NGOs, research institutes, background institutions and media influence. They now want to seize control from within, taking those decisions away from the heads of state and government with which they could control Europe, he said.

He recalled that the European Parliament wanted to tie political issues to financial issues, and there was a realistic threat that the EP’s stubbornness would frustrate the budget and the recovery fund. However, Hungary achieved its goal together with Poland, he said, observing that towards the end of the debate the Slovenians also had their voice heard on the matter, and Czech President Milos Zeman, too, said it would be right for Central European countries to stand up for the Hungarian-Polish opinion together. The Prime Minister described the position that was finally adopted as a common European success. He took the view that with the agreement of the heads of state and government, the financial background that is necessary for economic planning in the coming years is “foolproof”.

However, differences on other issues remain, and so there will be plenty of disputes in the future, he indicated, mentioning migration as an example, given the fact that the Western part of the continent “continues to insist on seeing a Europe that is based on immigration”; they want to give housing, wages and benefits to 34 million immigrants. In the Prime Minister’s opinion, this is insane. He also spoke about the gender issue which “normal Hungarians don’t even understand” because “these are the problems of such peripheral life situations that don’t concern about 99 per cent of people”.

Hungary is a normal country where it is evident that the father is a man and the mother is a woman, and they want to get married because they want common offspring, Mr Orbán argued. It is impossible to regulate 100 persons’ lives based on the specificities of the odd one out as they want to in Western Europe; the rules must be based on the remaining 99. There are normal situations and there are exceptions, he said, stressing that “we don’t want to condemn those who are the exceptions,” but no one can demand that the lives of the 99 per cent should be based on the specific lifestyle of the one per cent. He said in summary that the task in hand is not for the majority to adopt the minority’s way of thinking, but for the majority – preserving their own identity – to tolerate the minority’s viewpoint.