The coronavirus epidemic can only be defeated by vaccination, so whatever vaccine is offered, people must accept it, said Béla Merkely , rector of Semmelweis University, speaking in President János Áder's Blue Planet podcast.

Béla Merkely emphasized that she had heard of many tragedies where someone waited for a desired vaccine, then caught the virus, and the story had a terrible end.

He emphasized that the first vaccination has the greatest role against the disease. Immunity develops approximately two weeks after the first vaccination, and there is virtually 100 percent protection against serious illness. The second vaccination subsequently has a kind of multiplying effect, which increases the number of antibodies in the body.

The rector of Semmelweis University called it important that the antibody level of those who have been infected is lower than that of those who have been vaccinated, but at the same time, there is no need for a second vaccination in the case of those who have been proven to have caught the virus before.

He also said that people with two vaccinations may experience at most symptoms similar to a mild cold when they become infected, but he has not yet heard of a serious illness occurring among them.

Béla Merkely underlined that in order for the epidemic to show permanently low numbers in Hungary, roughly five million citizens need to be vaccinated, but she hopes that more people than this will require the vaccine, which may be enough to have a calm summer and that the epidemic does not return in September.

He emphasized that the British variant can only be avoided by vaccination, because its infectiousness is so high that it is only a matter of time before it infects the entire population. So those who think that herd immunity will develop without their own vaccination are wrong, he added.

He pointed out that the British variant causing the third wave not only infects more efficiently, but also causes more serious cases and does not spare young people either.
While in the case of the wild, i.e., Wuhan virus, each person infected an additional 2.7 people on average, in the case of the British mutant, this number is almost 4, and a significant number of infected people between the ages of 30 and 60 end up in the intensive care unit because of it .

According to the chancellor of Semmelweis University, the number of infected people in Hungary may be between 2-4.9 million, including the officially unconfirmed cases.

The leader of the conversation, János Áder, emphasized that we cannot be grateful enough for the superhuman effort that the healthcare workers provided during the epidemic. He added that the population can help them the most if they administer the vaccine.

The President of the Republic has repeatedly emphasized the importance of vaccination registration. "We can't hide from the virus, but we can win against it with the vaccine!" - declared the head of state, who summarized what Béla Merkely said as follows: register, register, register, and then accept the vaccinations offered.

Source: MTI