HUNGARY FIRST IN EU TO APPROVE CHINESE VACCINE

Hungary became the European Union's first member to approve China's Sinopharm COVID-19 vaccine, sealing a deal on Friday for five million doses.

Prime Minister Viktor Orban, pictured, whose nationalist government frequently bucks the consensus of its EU neighbours, said he would opt to receive the Chinese vaccine, as he trusted it more than others.

The announcement came a day after Budapest issued a decree for any vaccine to be approved that had been administered to at least one million people in at least three other countries.

Hungary's drug regulator has also approved Russia's Sputnik V and the Pfizer, Moderna and AstraZeneca vaccines.