COVID-19 and expatriation in Hungary

fluffy2560 wrote:

radiumpotato wrote:

Received second shot today. In and out in 5 minutes. In fact I was early for my appointment so I got in early, and left even before my official appointment time.

Do note: I do not live in Budapest, but a smaller village, and I have a TAJ card.

Cool!

Having a TAJ-card is a golden ticket to vaccine nirvana here in HU.

Unfortunate for the rest of us!

We read today that soon, very soon everyone can enter indoor spas,  zoo ,go to the and theater even without a vax inside of Hungary.
Yesterday a guy jumped the gun and wasn't wearing his mask on the subway, he got a warning and had to put one on.
They aren't pushing as hard now for everyone to get jabbed.
I'm hearing more and more about post jab after effects.
Not much coverage on that topic.
Of course I hope it's nothing,don't wish to have anyone get ill for any reason.
I wonder at times if this big push to jab was just a test to see how many people will listen to the professionals.
I personally think masks are a good idea on public transport.
The ticket agent this week had such bad breath that without my mask on I'd of passed out.

Vicces1 wrote:

....
When the system works, it works well. Again, for my experience, it was all waiting in line and then less than 5 minutes at the window, it'll come in the mail. And again, without Hungarian knowledge, it would have been a much longer, more painful process. So 100% agree with you Fluffy.
Happy you have Mrs Fluffy to take care of you! :-)

Should also mention, I have a TAJ-kartya.

It's a weird system this TAJ business.   

We don't have any such thing in the UK.  Healthcare is free at the point of delivery so asking for help will always work.  No-one would be refused.  They treat you and then decide if you should pay thereafter.   In some cases like minor incidents, paying is just too difficult so they just tell you to have a nice day.    I kind of expected it to work like that here but I can see it's not as user friendly at all.  They have a very weird view of it all in Hungary.  I bet it costs more to police the bureaucracy than they get in cost recovery.

Even paying for prescriptions here seems unusual - over 60s get medicines for free in the UK and any age get them free in Scotland and Wales.

Marilyn Tassy wrote:

...
We read today that soon, very soon everyone can enter indoor spas,  zoo ,go to the and theater even without a vax inside of Hungary.
Yesterday a guy jumped the gun and wasn't wearing his mask on the subway, he got a warning and had to put one on.
They aren't pushing as hard now for everyone to get jabbed.
I'm hearing more and more about post jab after effects.
Not much coverage on that topic.
Of course I hope it's nothing,don't wish to have anyone get ill for any reason.
I wonder at times if this big push to jab was just a test to see how many people will listen to the professionals.
I personally think masks are a good idea on public transport.
The ticket agent this week had such bad breath that without my mask on I'd of passed out.

It's all a bit ridiculous. 

The surgical type masks are supposed to be thrown away after one use and certainly not to be worn more than 4h.  Medical professionals will be doing that I am sure but the rest, nah, no way.  People just use the same one continuously or maybe wash it once a week if that. 

I do see a lot of the surgical masks in the forest now.  They don't need to wear them out there anyway so no idea why they lose/drop them.  Litterbugs.  They won't disappear for years and will screw up the environment.   

There will be more hassle to come.  There's theDelta Plus variant coming down the line. 

The EU (Merkel anyway) seems to think the Delta Plus variant is primarily originating in the UK but that's untrue.  The population is very highly vaccinated.  It's only identified in the UK because the UK has a huge and sophisticated surveillance operation.  And moreover, the cases detected either have no symptoms or mild symptoms because it's mainly occurring in younger people who have not been vaccinated. 

If they lockdown again because of Delta Plus I think there will be a riot.

fluffy2560 wrote:

It's a weird system this TAJ business.   

We don't have any such thing in the UK.  Healthcare is free at the point of delivery so asking for help will always work.  No-one would be refused.  They treat you and then decide if you should pay thereafter.   In some cases like minor incidents, paying is just too difficult so they just tell you to have a nice day.    I kind of expected it to work like that here but I can see it's not as user friendly at all.  They have a very weird view of it all in Hungary.  I bet it costs more to police the bureaucracy than they get in cost recovery.

Even paying for prescriptions here seems unusual - over 60s get medicines for free in the UK and any age get them free in Scotland and Wales.

As I am coming from the US, where you don't get treatment unless you can prove you can pay first, this is seen from the other way round, if you see my meaning. I don't think the HU healthcare system is run well, but with all the money going to new stadiums, and little going to healthcare systems and admin, one has only one place to look for the source of the problem.

I hear wonderful things about the UK system. Luckily, although I've been to the UK several times, I"ve never had to avail myself of it. But it is nice to know that if I am there, it is there if I need it...

Vicces1 wrote:

....
As I am coming from the US, where you don't get treatment unless you can prove you can pay first, this is seen from the other way round, if you see my meaning. I don't think the HU healthcare system is run well, but with all the money going to new stadiums, and little going to healthcare systems and admin, one has only one place to look for the source of the problem.

I hear wonderful things about the UK system. Luckily, although I've been to the UK several times, I"ve never had to avail myself of it. But it is nice to know that if I am there, it is there if I need it...

No, the healthcare system here is not well run.  The only thing I've seen which surprised me as working well is the electronic prescription system.  Here, the cost of drugs not on the government list here is concerning.  Some of them are very expensive but perhaps this is the real end user cost.  This is of course hidden from people in the UK. Even if one is not entitled to free medicines (living in England, under 60s and without chronic conditions) mainly, the costs are still subsidised.   

In HU, monitoring of patients with long term conditions seems a bit hit and miss.  And some doctors here need to go back to medical school for retraining - in ethics and other things.   Some of them you cannot trust and it needs a second or third opinion.  Mrs F's family have suffered either through indifference and/or incompetence from the medical professionals.

The UK NHS is a massive organisation - over a million people working for it.   Based upon population etc., the number of people working in healthcare here is below par.  I think there are about 95K healthcare professionals.  If they had the same ratio to population as the UK, there would be 150K people.

But this is not really news, there have been a lot of discussions about the under investment in healthcare here.  Then again according to O1G and his acolytes,  football,  "clean" living (i.e. a non-LGBT life) and religion will make everyone healthy. Inshallah.

If you don't have good health coverage in the US then you had betteer pray you are low income.
Low income people can get the gov. to cover their helath care but even then, it is limited to rules.
Say you have gov. care in the US and have skin cancer.
( Getting the gov. to help you out however requires you to bare your soul and show all your life histroy pretty much, they want to make you feel like a low life)
The doctor must send to you a skin doc. That could take a couple of months to get an appointment.
They check you out and then they must get approval before treating you or they will not get paid for their services from the gov.
They can only request to remove up to 3 spots of skin cancer at a time without filling out more forms and getting approval to do more.
It's easy for 6 months to pass by before you actually are treated. So yes, people could die waiting.
Coming from that sort of horrible world, I think the Hungarian Taj is a God send.
Even if you wait hours to see a doctor in a hallways on a hard old rickty chair with no tv set blasting in the background for entertainment, it's all good.
I went to a dentist in the US and they were actually hooked up to Netfix while you sat in the dental chair waiting fr the dentist to run from room to room to give treatments to those just watching a movie and waiting for their work.
Space age chairs with surround sound etc. Who's paying for all that, the patient is.
My husband went to a dentist in Vegas about 9 years back while we were on holiday there. No US insrance and even if we had it, most don't cover dental work anyways.
Well they had him pay up front first before any tooth was treated. I remember he had one tooth worked on and the dentist suggested he do some work on anoother toth that day. He agreed and had to get up from the dental chair and pay at the desk before the dentist started the work.
On our next Vegas vacation we drove past that dental clinic. Smeone had thrown a rock into their huge window and broke it! Made us feel sort of warm and fuzzy to see that.
My sister was working for her deranged boyfriend as a painter when she had her first serious asthma attack. No health insurance at that time. She had just quit her office job and her coverage was gone.
She was 42 years old and generally healthy excpet for her lungs.
Her boyfriend literally carried her blue unconsicous body in his car to the door of the ER.
They had a team jump on the gurney pumping her heart and giving her air . She died, had a NDE even. Well after shots given into her heart she woke up.
They were kind enough to allow her to rest for a couple of hours with a moniter on her.
All good, get up and get out now.
Life and death in the US without insurnace and without being poor enough for gov. aid.
My county sucks with helping it's citizens.

Hello,

I have successfully registered for the vaccination without TAJ card.

But unfortunately I have not received any email confirming the same. I have no PID number required for slot booking.

Can anyone help me with the vaccination appointment booking.

Thanks in advance

Kavyapravinsb wrote:

Hello,

I have successfully registered for the vaccination without TAJ card.

But unfortunately I have not received any email confirming the same. I have no PID number required for slot booking.

Can anyone help me with the vaccination appointment booking.

Thanks in advance

I only know to go here:  https://vakcinainfo.gov.hu/

I have also walked in person to the place giving the vaccines and had success. Hungarian knowledge is probably required...

Kavyapravinsb wrote:

Hello,

I have successfully registered for the vaccination without TAJ card.

But unfortunately I have not received any email confirming the same. I have no PID number required for slot booking.

Can anyone help me with the vaccination appointment booking.

Thanks in advance

We've covered this before. Read back in this thread - everything is there.

You are better off ignoring the online reservation system. 

Simply go to a vaccination centre along with your paperwork (address card, residents card, passport).  Don't go late, try to get there before it opens.  You can choose where you want to go.

If you can, take a Hungarian speaker with you because you will struggle without someone to help. There's a form to fill out in Hungarian although maybe they have English ones.

I went with Mrs Fluffy to Szent Janos Korhaz on a Monday and managed to get the first vaccination within about 2 to 3 hours.   If you get one vaccination, they'll give you a card with the next appointment date on it.   

As soon as you have one vaccination,  you need to get to the Kormanyablak to get the green certificate (comes in the post eventually).     Again, Hungarian speaker is going to make it considerably easier.

The next thing is to try and get the EU version of the certificate.

fluffy2560 wrote:

The next thing is to try and get the EU version of the certificate.

About that...

My wife went in to the Kormányablak today and was successful in getting the EU Card (digital only at this point, she was told).  She is Hungarian with a TAJ number.  She asked about my eligibility for the card.  What they told her is that since I don't have a TAJ card, I will need to wait until 2nd week of August. 

Anyone else who is vaccinated in Hungary without a TAJ number hearing the same thing?

Junior Street wrote:

fluffy2560 wrote:

The next thing is to try and get the EU version of the certificate.

About that...

My wife went in to the Kormányablak today and was successful in getting the EU Card (digital only at this point, she was told).  She is Hungarian with a TAJ number.  She asked about my eligibility for the card.  What they told her is that since I don't have a TAJ card, I will need to wait until 2nd week of August. 

Anyone else who is vaccinated in Hungary without a TAJ number hearing the same thing?

That's good info. 

I am wondering why it's like that without TAJ card?  They already know e-mails, cards,  passport numbers and so on. 

They could just e-mail an auto generated PDF to everyone!

We're going to go to the Kormanyablak on Monday or Tuesday to see if we can get the EU version, if not for me, for Mrs F so we can see if it works.

I am hopeful that there will start to be mutual recognition amongst the major economies/economic groups.   Then travel can restart.

EU is not recognising the AZ vaccines made in India even though it's actually the same as the AZ version in Europe.   UK has some AZ Indian batches. 

No-one seems to be accepting the Chinese and Russian versions except possibly Greece.

Got this from the government today....

"We are pleased to inform you that the number of people vaccinated in Hungary has exceeded 5.5 million. This allows us to release a significant part of the restrictions.

- Mask wearing is no longer mandatory (with the exception of social institutions and hospitals).
- Access to catering shops, accommodation, leisure facilities and cultural events with a forward-facing auditorium is possible without a security certificate.
- Restrictions on shops will be lifted.
- At family events and private events, the current limit of 50 people will increase to 100 people, and in the case of weddings, the number limit of 200 people will increase to 400 people.

Sports events, music and dance events and other events held indoors or outdoors for more than 500 people can still only be attended with a security certificate.

More information is available here (in HU language).

There are several vaccines available in Hungary, so everyone who wants to can get the vaccine. The registration website (https://vakcinainfo.gov.hu/) and the online appointment book are still available to everyone. If you have a friend who is not yet registered, please encourage them to do so! The vaccine saved lives."

There's a newspaper articles flying around that these relaxations are related to Lőrinc Mészáros's wedding party where, apparently, he's hired Jennifer Lopez to perform!

When will this all pass?
Now we need a hall pass to travel?
I was a hall monitor in grade school...Where are you going and who gave you permission to be in the hall during class time?
Yes, I was "that kid" for awhile.
Just found a song by the heavy metal group ,"Killing Joke" titled, "I am the Virus".
Hmm, seems there is nothing new under the sun, this is an older song.
The US now says there is a ,"surge" in new infection rates due to the Delta variant, OK if they say so it must be true.
I also heard that the world is considering having  "Inviormental Lockdowns" because the US had a 7% lower rate of carbn emissions during the lng 18 month C-19 lockdowns.
Of course China and India will not have to participate in these lockdowns.
That's what main stream media has reported and Biden and Harris are full on welcoming the new upcoming lockdowns to save the world. Mean while they are cutting down trees at a very high rate all over the world and forcing us instead to breath in our own carbon .

Marilyn Tassy wrote:

.....
The US now says there is a ,"surge" in new infection rates due to the Delta variant, OK if they say so it must be true.
I also heard that the world is considering having  "Inviormental Lockdowns" because the US had a 7% lower rate of carbn emissions during the lng 18 month C-19 lockdowns.
Of course China and India will not have to participate in these lockdowns.
That's what main stream media has reported and Biden and Harris are full on welcoming the new upcoming lockdowns to save the world. Mean while they are cutting down trees at a very high rate all over the world and forcing us instead to breath in our own carbon .

Yes, good point, it doesn't say when it comes in.   Maybe right now!  No idea.  I tried to Google it and just gave up as   I'm finding the whole thing intolerable.   

On my own country's restrictions, they are still pushing all sorts of interference in people's lives.   We'll find out on 19 July for UK travel.   The majority of experts (on the radio anyway) I've heard say the restrictions need to stop as they are now unnecessary. I am becoming sceptical of the statistics now.  They are reporting percentage cases and increases in the Delta variant.  But not reporting the majority of cases have no symptoms or mild symptoms that do not cause hospitalisations.   

But as we know politicians don't want to give up their options to control on people.  Oddly Hungary travel and border controls are less of a problem than the UK. 

The President in Brazil is currently the bad boy responsible for destroying the world's lungs.  If Joe and Kamala wanted to do something to save the world, they should lean on Bolsonaro PDQ!

BTW, I found out the EU vaccine certificate will be available after August 12.  This is the slower track version of the rollout.  Other countries were able to manage it by July 1 but here, nope.  It doesn't worry me so long as I have the HU certificate.

fluffy2560 wrote:

BTW, I found out the the EU vaccine certificate will be available after August 8.  This is the slower track version of the rollout.  Other countries were able to manage it by July 1 but here, nope.  It doesn't worry me so long as I have the HU certificate.

We already have ours

Sooner of later we need to take a trip .
I now wish I had finished all my business in the US on our last visit there.
Hate to go back there now for any reason.
It is so lame that some vaxes are approved to travel with and others not.
If they really work then what's up?
All I can is that we are glad we are old, hate to be young and full of energy and have this going on to put a damper on life.
We've done some traveling and really other then seeing our boy again and taking care of business in the US I have no big dreams about seeing the world.
Think I've seen enough as it is.
SE Asia was on our list but then again, why bother , don't like humid weather anyways.
I have a feeling some day our son will come here to Hungary and then I'm good to go.
I'm glad he doesn't feel the need to be around us all the time t be happy.
I can't shake the feeling though that this entire C-19 thing is a cover fr a bigger agenda which might be unfolding anytime now.
Everytime they mention how much they are figthing to save us we all loose more and more rights and are more controllled.
once your freedom is taken they will never just hand it back.
They love the control and power, why would they give it back?
In the mean time JayLo (Jello?) acting as a wedding singer? Wow ,we are living in a movie, a B rated one!

SimCityAT wrote:

fluffy2560 wrote:

BTW, I found out the the EU vaccine certificate will be available after August 12.  This is the slower track version of the rollout.  Other countries were able to manage it by July 1 but here, nope.  It doesn't worry me so long as I have the HU certificate.

We already have ours

That was fast.   

The goulash version is slow.   Makes you wonder about the issuance of HU issued vaccination certificates.  They could have just made those the localised EU version.  Now we have to go to the government office and queue up - again.

This article notes the 12 August slow track rollout.

Marilyn Tassy wrote:

Sooner of later we need to take a trip .
I now wish I had finished all my business in the US on our last visit there.
Hate to go back there now for any reason.
It is so lame that some vaxes are approved to travel with and others not.
If they really work then what's up?
All I can is that we are glad we are old, hate to be young and full of energy and have this going on to put a damper on life.
We've done some traveling and really other then seeing our boy again and taking care of business in the US I have no big dreams about seeing the world.
Think I've seen enough as it is.
SE Asia was on our list but then again, why bother , don't like humid weather anyways.
I have a feeling some day our son will come here to Hungary and then I'm good to go.
I'm glad he doesn't feel the need to be around us all the time t be happy.
I can't shake the feeling though that this entire C-19 thing is a cover fr a bigger agenda which might be unfolding anytime now.
Every time they mention how much they are fighhing to save us we all loose more and more rights and are more controlled.
once your freedom is taken they will never just hand it back.
They love the control and power, why would they give it back?
In the mean time JayLo (Jello?) acting as a wedding singer? Wow ,we are living in a movie, a B rated one!

Some vaccines haven't got approval by whatever regulatory authority rules the roost in that particular locale.  What they are saying about approval is that they do not trust the medicine production in wherever to be of an acceptable standard.   Of course, it makes no sense as the company producing it is the same. It's another anti-AZ thing. 

I did see J-Lo in a movie and I thought she was quite a good actress.   I didn't even know she was a singer at that point as I don't listen to that type of music. 

The thing is that the oligarch's fortunes are built on friendship with O1G.  J-Lo  is apparently a big support of LGBT rights but I saw a news report saying it was obviously qualified support when money is changing hands.   

Who really wants to pay J-Lo $1-2M to sing?  But nice work if you can get it.  She'll fly in by business jet, do a few numbers, then fly out all on the same day. Presumably she won't need to prove she's been vaccinated, has a certificate and takes a PCR test.  If she proves positive, presumably she'd be whisked through anyway.

Many years back I think the price to get the Stones to play your BD party was 5 million, guess a buck each.
I still miss the old Brain days... He is worth 5 million on his own.
Bill has had to close his,"Sticky Finger" restaurants due to C-19.
My sister took me on one of my BD's in 1988 to see Keith with his side band, "The Expensive Winos". Tickets were less then $30. each so I feel I won in the BD dept.
I agree one vax  brand should be expected if any are at all.

Marilyn Tassy wrote:

Many years back I think the price to get the Stones to play your BD party was 5 million, guess a buck each.
I still miss the old Brain days... He is worth 5 million on his own.
Bill has had to close his,"Sticky Finger" restaurants due to C-19.
My sister took me on one of my BD's in 1988 to see Keith with his side band, "The Expensive Winos". Tickets were less then $30. each so I feel I won in the BD dept.
I agree one vax  brand should be expected if any are at all.

Even if I had mega bucks I don't think it would be worth  paying for those bands.  Maybe I'd pay for someone like ZZ Top.   But even then I'd be a bit meh about it.   

Birthdays always seem to be around the corner these days as time accelerates.  I was due to have  a bit of an get together in 2020 for my 60th with my UK family coming over here to HU but the pandemic cancelled it.  I suppose if we ever managed to get together it would be a 60+1 birthday and this pandemic goes on, we'll have to keep on adding on a digit to it - 60+2 etc.   

No. 1 HU Fluffyette is having a Balaton birthday at the weekend.  Mrs F and I are going to be "the help" loitering in the background.

fluffy2560 wrote:

The goulash version is slow.   Makes you wonder about the issuance of HU issued vaccination certificates.  They could have just made those the localised EU version.  Now we have to go to the government office and queue up - again.

This article notes the 12 August slow track rollout.

The EU certificate is already available in HU, get it via the EESZT portal or the mobile app.

atomheart wrote:

fluffy2560 wrote:

The goulash version is slow.   Makes you wonder about the issuance of HU issued vaccination certificates.  They could have just made those the localised EU version.  Now we have to go to the government office and queue up - again.

This article notes the 12 August slow track rollout.

The EU certificate is already available in HU, get it via the EESZT portal or the mobile app.

Specific link?

https://e-egeszsegugy.gov.hu/[link under review]

https://www.eeszt.gov.hu/oldalvalaszto_tovabb.jsp

Az jogosultak az igazolványokat a Kormányablakoknál ingyenesen kérhetik. Az igazolvány kiállítása a kérelem után azonnal megtörténik. A Kormányablakoknál az uniós digitális COVID oltási, teszt- és felgyógyulási igazolvány igénylésre van lehetőség, melyek az igénylést követően PDF formátumban letölthetők és nyomtathatók.

Az igazolásokat papíralapon a háziorvosoknál is lehet díjmentesen igényelni.

A papíron kiállított igazolványok pecsét és aláírás nélkül érvényesek, mivel hitelességüket a rajtuk lévő QR-kód biztosítja.

Figyelem! A QR kód ellenőrzése majd csak az ellenőrző alkalmazás (EESZT Covid Control) EU kompatibilis verziójával lesz lehetséges.

További információ: www.kormanyablak.hu

Vicces1 wrote:

Az jogosultak az igazolványokat a Kormányablakoknál ingyenesen kérhetik. Az igazolvány kiállítása a kérelem után azonnal megtörténik. A Kormányablakoknál az uniós digitális COVID oltási, teszt- és felgyógyulási igazolvány igénylésre van lehetőség, melyek az igénylést követően PDF formátumban letölthetők és nyomtathatók.

Az igazolásokat papíralapon a háziorvosoknál is lehet díjmentesen igényelni.

A papíron kiállított igazolványok pecsét és aláírás nélkül érvényesek, mivel hitelességüket a rajtuk lévő QR-kód biztosítja.

Figyelem! A QR kód ellenőrzése majd csak az ellenőrző alkalmazás (EESZT Covid Control) EU kompatibilis verziójával lesz lehetséges.

További információ: www.kormanyablak.hu

Or better....

Holders can apply for ID cards free of charge from Government Windows. The card will be issued immediately upon request. At the Government Windows, it is possible to apply for the EU digital COVID vaccination, test and recovery certificate, which can be downloaded and printed in PDF format after the application.

Certificates can also be requested on paper from GPs free of charge.

Certificates issued on paper are valid without a stamp and signature, as their authenticity is ensured by the QR code on them.

Attention! The QR code will only be validated with the EU compatible version of the control application (EESZT Covid Control).


This might be easier - EU Travel Reopens as COVID Certificate Reaches Hungary

According to that article:
In order to download the certificate, Hungarians must have first downloaded the National eHealth Infrastructure (EESZT) mobile application. In the Apple App store, it is called EESZT Lakossági, while on the Google Play store it is called EESZT alkalmazás. Users must log-in with their Client Gate (Ügyfélkapu) account and password.

Mrs F has one of these Ügyfélkapu accounts/passwords and it's hard work.   A card arrived with the details on it and after handling for a bit, the number and the password have rubbed off!  Now a new one is required - and a wait for it. 

I don't get the inefficiency.   If you can QR code the EESZT, why not simply e-mail the certificate to the person at the e-mail address they gave when they applied for the card?  Why all the other faffing about?

fluffy2560 wrote:

Marilyn Tassy wrote:

Many years back I think the price to get the Stones to play your BD party was 5 million, guess a buck each.
I still miss the old Brain days... He is worth 5 million on his own.
Bill has had to close his,"Sticky Finger" restaurants due to C-19.
My sister took me on one of my BD's in 1988 to see Keith with his side band, "The Expensive Winos". Tickets were less then $30. each so I feel I won in the BD dept.
I agree one vax  brand should be expected if any are at all.

Even if I had mega bucks I don't think it would be worth  paying for those bands.  Maybe I'd pay for someone like ZZ Top.   But even then I'd be a bit meh about it.   

Birthdays always seem to be around the corner these days as time accelerates.  I was due to have  a bit of an get together in 2020 for my 60th with my UK family coming over here to HU but the pandemic cancelled it.  I suppose if we ever managed to get together it would be a 60 1 birthday and this pandemic goes on, we'll have to keep on adding on a digit to it - 60 2 etc.   

No. 1 HU Fluffyette is having a Balaton birthday at the weekend.  Mrs F and I are going to be "the help" loitering in the background.

Sounds like a fun BD at the lake.
My German born friend in Las Vegas just mentioned she personally knows 16 people in Las Vegas ATM with C-19.
2 have died, 2 are in hospital on a ventilator.
She owns and operates ,"The Las Vegas  Gifts and Crafts" shows.
They just had a huge event with several of these vendors now being ill.
Other people who are ill were in her pilates class( She does it all, never stops working at many different jobs even has her own animal recuse,Sir's Rescue Rangers).
It sounds like that Delta varient is hitting Vegas hard.
She wants everyone to get a vax, guess she means me.
While it appears Hungary is doing better the states seem to be in a mess.
Wish they would decide what vax is excepted everywhere because that's one reason we are hold outs, waiting to know which vax to get before commiting to one that is not excepted world wide for travel.

Does anyone know if Hungary has relaxed the rule of visitors presenting at the borders needing a valid reason for travel? I live in Croatia but used to visit Hungary every couple of months for shopping, visiting friends etc. The BalatonBrits used to do regular lunch meetings and I went to some of those. Obviously this has been on hold now for over a year but it is frustrating at times. The BalatonBrits also have an advertising FB group and someone is offering a wooden chest that would be ideal for towel storage in my bathroom. I don't like particle board furniture but this is solid wood. I'm not vaccinated so I suppose there would be hoops to jump through but I don't have a legitimate reason for travel. I did hear something about vaccination tourism, as somehow Hungary had acquired more doses of vaccine than it needed. I don't know if that is still available or if they tell you in advance which vaccine is to be administered. I would prefer to avoid the mRNA based vaccines such as Pfizer.

AFAIK, all non-Hungarians entering Hungary must show proof of vaccination at the border.

fidobsa wrote:

Does anyone know if Hungary has relaxed the rule of visitors presenting at the borders needing a valid reason for travel? I live in Croatia but used to visit Hungary every couple of months for shopping, visiting friends etc. The BalatonBrits used to do regular lunch meetings and I went to some of those. Obviously this has been on hold now for over a year but it is frustrating at times. The BalatonBrits also have an advertising FB group and someone is offering a wooden chest that would be ideal for towel storage in my bathroom. I don't like particle board furniture but this is solid wood. I'm not vaccinated so I suppose there would be hoops to jump through but I don't have a legitimate reason for travel. I did hear something about vaccination tourism, as somehow Hungary had acquired more doses of vaccine than it needed. I don't know if that is still available or if they tell you in advance which vaccine is to be administered. I would prefer to avoid the mRNA based vaccines such as Pfizer.

I was watching the M1 TV channel news after the England-Ukraine game and it showed huge queues to get into Croatia and a wait of many hours.  I wasn't paying much attention but it seemed to suggest that even minor crossing points are swamped. Must be an issue with checking people's vaccination status.  A day trip to Hungary might be difficult without quarantine and tests unless vaccinated.

Pfizer is the default vaccine now but others here have reported the single dose vaccines being used too.  You can ask at the counter what today's flavour is and either walk away or take it.   It can be pretty chaotic  in these vaccination  places but I expect out in the countryside, it could be much easier to take time to discuss it.  Language will be difficult.

The chances of anything happening to you with any of the vaccines is minuscule compared to the risks of the disease.

My freind in Vegas who has 16 friends right now with Covid is saying a mother and her daughter are the 2 people on vents in hospital.
I asked her if any of these 16 people have been vaxed or not.
Waiting for an answer on that, would be interesting to know.
We are waiting to to see which vax will be excpeted for internation travel.
We need one that is excepted worldwide not just locally in the EU.
We actually don't really travel in the EU just stay in Hungary or leave for the US or possibly Asia.
Don't really want a mRNA shot either.
Think Hungary is the only country in the EU to have given out the Chinese vax.

Marilyn Tassy wrote:

My freind in Vegas who has 16 friends right now with Covid is saying a mother and her daughter are the 2 people on vents in hospital.
I asked her if any of these 16 people have been vaxed or not.
Waiting for an answer on that, would be interesting to know.
We are waiting to to see which vax will be excpeted for internation travel.
We need one that is excepted worldwide not just locally in the EU.
We actually don't really travel in the EU just stay in Hungary or leave for the US or possibly Asia.
Don't really want a mRNA shot either.
Think Hungary is the only country in the EU to have given out the Chinese vax.

I'm literally just back from Szent Janos Korhaz and the 2nd jab. We got there 0740h and it was more organised this time and there were only 10 people in front of us - the majority were Indians, some Hungarians and some other unknowns, possibly Spanish people. 

The doc spoke good English but I ran into a minor problem that I was somehow not in the computer  on the doc's desk  This is the 2nd time this has happened but it was easily resolved. The good news is that I was jabbed,

I got an international certificate in English AND amazingly I got my yellow WHO book filled in and stamped.  They asked why I wanted my WHO book signed/stamped - international traveller around the world.  WHO booklets are likely to be more acceptable in far flung places. Certificates will become necessary for even transit.  So this was a good tip to note from other posters.

Next job is to get to the Kormanyablak and get the EU vaccination certificate so we can travel around the region and hopefully even further.

I also think the Chinese vaccine is only used in Hungary.  However I think the Greeks will accept it as evidence of vaccination.
 
Nobody should worry about the technology behind the vaccinations.   The disease is far more dangerous than the vaccine.  Not getting jabbed is going to put oneself and others in jeopardy. Responsible thing to do is to get the vaccine.

Where do you get a WHO book?
Never heard of that.
Hope there are not any bad reactions to your 2nd jab.
Drink a ton of water and rest.
My Vegas friend said that the people with C-19 who had a jab have mild to no symptoms and the mom and daughter on the vent didn't have a jab.

Marilyn Tassy wrote:

Where do you get a WHO book?
Never heard of that.
Hope there are not any bad reactions to your 2nd jab.
Drink a ton of water and rest.
My Vegas friend said that the people with C-19 who had a jab have mild to no symptoms and the mom and daughter on the vent didn't have a jab.

It was all happening today.

I don't have any reactions.  I'm a bit hot but that's because it's really humid today.   It's a dog walking day so I'll wait for it to cool down a bit and see how it goes.   No time to rest really as too much to do.
 
We're also back from the Kormanyablak and in possession of the EU certificate (which is this giant A4 paper in two parts - one for each dose).  Also registered for the Ugyfelkapu (government gateway) so I can access the certificate myself while online. I didn't trust the government web site to produce the certificate so insisted on them giving it to me at the Kormanyablak.  I also received the Immunity Certificate in the post. Looks like I'm good to go as soon as the UK removes the incoming traveller restrictions.  Woo-Hoo!

Your LV friend's message has just mostly proved the need to do it.  Having the vaccination is going to avoid being intubated and put into a coma.  And one wants to avoid getting long-COVID. Being in a coma is likely to mess you up and prolong any recovery.  My BIL was in an induced coma due to complications from heart surgery.  He was a bit different when he came back. My sister said it was known the machines they use are not that great long term even though they do of course save people.

Anyways, you get  the WHO booklet anywhere they do vaccinations - like a travel clinic or the OEK here.

WHO booklet looks like this (happens to be a British one in  the picture but they are all the same), sorry it's a giant picture.  Note that this is necessary for Yellow Fever risk countries when travelling in Africa so this is why I have mine.  I always get them to fill it in when I have a vaccination.  They give them to you free at the OEK when you pay for a vaccination there.  The WHO booklet is world acceptable.  Hence the importance (to me anyway) to have it as evidence - other countries won't give a damn about the EU certificate or HU immunity card.

Impressed you got the EU docs at the kormányablak.... I was not so fortunate last week.  Will try again.

Junior Street wrote:

Impressed you got the EU docs at the kormányablak.... I was not so fortunate last week.  Will try again.

The person we dealt with said they were issuing them since 1st July  so  your person was telling porkies (UK: pork pies = lies).   

It's a terrible design and hardly portable.  I intend to shrink it down to a manageable size, laminate it  but it could mean the QR code could be unreadable.  I scanned the QR code and it's not in plain text.

Update on obtaining the EU certificate online:

I was registered at the Ugyfelkapu in an attempt to see the PDF for the EU COVID certificate.  I was following the post-registration confirmation process.

I never got further than that because suddenly I received an automated e-mail telling me my registration for the service had been cancelled for "technical reasons" and everything had been archived.   No additional explanation.   

Seems to me that it's all a work in progress and it doesn't actually do anything. 

If anyone manages to get the PDF version of the EU COVID certificate, it might be useful to know how!

Patience is a good virtue and honestly in 1 or 2 months time we will have to confirm we received a third jab. My wife went to Asia for 10 days without too much hassle, but proper documentation will certainly help ("green" card, proof of vaccination, residence card, passport (obviously), ..) A bag full of documents but it helped.
With Turkish Airlines they are also quite well prepared, it is more on the border controls.

Things now are good I think (even if receiving only Sputnik), in autumn we will see some surprises but even living in the Schengen area will give some advantages as compared to living in eg India/Bangladesh/Seychelles. No guarantee, but advantage definitely. What I can tell you is that situations can change very quickly (also in these times) and I was seriously worried if my wife could return in time. (Things went smooth though).
Just to point out that even within the EU (or Europe) situations might change very quickly and you might be stuck for a number of months even.

Do not mention it, yes I am chaotic in my posts, but I hope the message is still there.