Hungary's COVID-19 immunity cards both welcomed and feared

Tens of thousands of football fans packed into Puskas Arena in Budapest last week for Euro 2020 tournament, first full-house international football event in Europe in over a year. return to full capacity stadiums in Hungary has been accompanied by adoption of government-issued immunity cards as part of its COVID-19 vaccination drive. In addition to sporting events, cards Hungarian fans must present before entering stadium also affords m access to or services and venues like hotels, spas, atres and indoor dining at restaurants.

Yet while cards - issued to those who have received at least one vaccine dose or have recovered from COVID-19 - have allowed a return to life-as-usual for many in Hungary, some are questioning how ir implementation could lead to discrimination and impact on fundamental rights.

According to David Vig, director of human rights group Amnesty International Hungary, re are concerns that system could lead to a two-tier society made up of those who have vaccination card, and those who do t. Hungary's procurement of vaccines from China and Russia as well as through EU, quickly gave it second highest vaccination rate in 27-member European Union.

More than 66% of adults in Hungary have received at least one dose of a vaccine, according to European Centre for Disease Control and Prevention. But in recent weeks, as most of those willing to be vaccinated have already received a jab, pace of vaccination has slowed dramatically.

Government figures show that some 2 million people in Hungary still do t have an immunity card, restricting m from many opportunities available to cardholders. se maintained restrictions for unvaccinated underlie government's strategy for providing incentives for vaccination, "but in a rar forceful way", Vig said.

In a statement in April, Hungarian Civil Liberties Union argued that cards were discriminative to those who, "due to ir state of health, cant be vaccinated temporarily or permanently," such as women in certain sts of pregnancy, or those with chronic conditions that make vaccination inadvisable.

Such groups, as well as ecomically disadvantd who could t complete mandatory online registration to be vaccinated due to a lack of internet access, face discrimination for ir lack of a card, group argued. Akos Sipos, 45, a web analyst in Budapest, said he is uncomfortable showing his personal identification alongside his immunity card when entering public venues, but says he regards such measures as "a necessary evil."

Vig echoed concerns that registration process has been used to generate user data for political gain. "I very much hope that this is t going to be used for election or political purposes in future. But I'm t saying that I can be certain of that," he told Associated Press.

While more than 60,000 fans were permitted into Puskas Arena last week for football matches, Hungary's government has continued to limit or public events like protests, citing pandemic concerns. Vig said such restrictions should t be imposed for a "prolonged or an unlimited time."