Hungary Starts Talks to Produce Sputnik Vaccine at New Factory

(Bloomberg) -- Hungary has started talks with Russia about the production of the Sputnik V coronavirus vaccine, according to Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto.

Hungary is looking to manufacture the Russian shot at a new factory starting at the end of 2022, Szijjarto said in a Facebook video on Thursday from the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum. Szijjarto held talks last week in China about producing the Sinopharm vaccine as well.

Hungary is the only European Union member state to authorize the use of both the Russian and Chinese Covid-19 vaccine, which Prime Minister Viktor Orban’s government credits for an inoculation campaign that has allowed to ease virus curbs faster most of its EU peers. The eastern shots complement western ones the country is also using, including those from Pfizer, Moderna and AstraZeneca.

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