Free vaccinations against bird flu will be available to all Hungarian citizens once ongoing tests on humans are completed and the country will profit from exports of the vaccine products, Hungarian Prime Minister Ferenc Gyurcsany said on Tuesday in Budapest.

"The vaccine trial on humans was entering its final stages. If Hungary, one of the first countries to have the vaccine, has production capacity, it will profit from vaccine exports after satisfying domestic needs," Gyurcsany said on local radio.

He made the remarks in response to opposition criticism that immunizing the population will be too expensive.

If there is a "more imminent" danger of an epidemic, under doctor's permission, every citizen in Hungary will get a shot, Gyurcsany said.

Initial results of the first testing of a bird flu vaccine on humans are expected in a few days and once it turns out positive the registration procedure and the manufacturing of the vaccine can be carried out within the next few weeks, he added.

On Monday when Gyurcsany announced the free inoculation plan in parliament, the major opposition party Fidesz disputed that it will bring budget difficulty.

In September, the country's health minister and two senior health officials were among the first people to undergo test vaccinations against the deadly H5N1 strain of bird flu after successful trials on animals.

Hungary, which joined the European Union on May 1, last year, is a leader in pharmaceuticals.

The discovery of a human vaccine against bird flu would not only mean a financial jackpot for the pharmaceutical companies which won the race, but also a much needed boost for the industry's reputation.

A handful of companies which monopolize in the field are investing heavily in the vaccine, and recent weeks have seen their expediting to gain profits from a strong market need for such products as fears of a global pandemic of H5N1 are growing.

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Source: Xinhua