The Hungarian National team lost badly to Portugal. The 0-3 score became the opening result of their journey at the 2020 European Cup. But even so, Hungary still celebrated victory at the Puskas Arena stadium: celebrating the victory against Covid-19. It was reported that 61 thousand spectators filled the Puskas Arena. This amount is 100% capacity of the stadium, which is located in Budapest. This amount was three times the number of British spectators allowed to watch the England vs Croatia match at Wembley two days earlier.
For those of us who are in other country, with all the limitations of life due to Covid-19, what happened at the Puskas Arena is a question mark. What makes them not afraid of Covid-19 so that they are allowed to congregate? And why was only Hungary allowed to fill the stadium? It turns out that there is one answer: Vaccines. “Everyone who has registered will be vaccinated, and with a vaccine card they have the opportunity to take part in this event,” said Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban.
Goodbye Mask
“Covid-19 numbers are getting better compared to a few months ago,” said a source told The Athletic. “But not many people understand why stadiums are full. But the answer is very simple: The government and the Prime Minister of Hungary love football and they know how important the Euro is to their national team and their country.”
To note, in April 2021, or two months before Euro 2020 was held, Hungary was actually still one of the countries worst affected by Covid-19. According to Bloomberg, Hungary has the highest death rate per one million population with an average of 171.2 deaths per seven days on April 19. This news is bad news for the Hungarian government, which was previously very enthusiastic about welcoming the 2020 European Cup. Therefore, they immediately anticipated it by increasing the vaccine in the community. In April, according to Bloomberg, only about 3 million people were vaccinated, this is only a third of the total population of 9.8 million people.
The population is also massively scheduled to get the first dose of the vaccine in May. The European Drug Administration (EMA) approved it, with Hungary being the only EU country allowed to use vaccines from China and Russia in large quantities. There is actually a political element to this decision. First, there will be a parliamentary election in 2022. Second, of course, about the use of vaccines from China and Russia, which were chosen when many other countries opposed.
But on the other hand, due to this political policy, about two weeks before Euro 2020, 5.3 million people have been vaccinated. This number continues to grow as it approaches the four-year event. As of June 14, Hungary had a 97.6% vaccine ratio per 100 people. This figure is the third highest in Europe after Malta and the United Kingdom.
In Hungary, the total number of Covid-19 cases reached 807,000 cases per this article was written. 5.9 million people have been tested, which is about 60% of the population. The cure rate is 90.4%, and the death rate is 3.7%. It is these numbers that make Hungary feel confident that Covid-19 has been well contained, and Budapest can still host Euro 2020 when Dublin and Bilbao are left out. Prime Minister Viktor Orban also believes that Hungary has overcome the third wave of Covid-19 in his country. “This means that we have defeated the third wave of the pandemic. It’s time to say goodbye to masks,” Orban was quoted as saying by Hungary Today.
Vaccine and Anti-Vaccine Battle
Not all Hungarians want to be vaccinated. Viktor Orban also continues to campaign for Hungarian people who have not been vaccinated to be vaccinated immediately. “If we want to return to a normal, healthy and happy life, vaccines are the answer because they can protect and fight the virus,” Orban persuaded. This is also what is happening right now in other countries. When the case of Covid-19 is increasing, there are still many of our people who do not want to be vaccinated. Many are still afraid of being vaccinated due to the news of the side effects they get after being vaccinated, even though there are still reports about people infected with Covid-19 even though the person has been vaccinated. But what you need to know, vaccines do not make us 100 percent protected from viruses. The World Health Organization (WHO) also agrees. But vaccines make our bodies better prepared for the real arrival of the virus.
Basically our bodies contain thousands of types of antibodies that will protect us from all diseases. Covid-19 is a new pathogen that the antibodies in the body cannot deal with. So what happens when we are infected with Covid-19, our bodies are powerless so that the virus damages the organs in our bodies.
Vaccines, meanwhile, help our bodies to form antibodies against certain viruses, bacteria, fungi and parasites. The side effect of being vaccinated is our body’s process of learning these antibodies so that when the real virus arrives, the body is ready and knows what to do with the virus without damaging our bodies.
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