Hungary is the first EU country to approve China's Sinopharm COVID-19 vaccine for emergency use and has agreed to buy 5m doses. 

Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto said on a Facebook post the vaccine would be delivered over four months and would enable Hungary to vaccinate almost a quarter of the country's population.

In a show of confidence in the Chinese jab, Prime Minister Viktor Orban said he would take the vaccine.

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"I'll wait for the Chinese vaccine, that's the one I trust the most," Orban said on public radio.

"Personally I think that the Chinese, who have known this virus for the longest time, must know the most about it. So I'll wait for my turn and if I can choose I'll ask for the Chinese vaccine."

Hungary's leader been frustrated by the pace of the EU's vaccine roll-out. The approval of the Chinese vaccine is another step away from Brussels, with the country having purchased 2 million doses of Russia's Sputnik jab – which are due to arrive in the country by the end of February.

"We can only make a choice between Eastern and Western vaccines if we have them. If we don't have them, there's nothing we can choose from," Orban said, denying any political intention.

However, there are concerns surrounding the approval of the Sinopharm jab.

On Thursday, the government changed the vaccine approval process, effectively circumventing the health regulator and declaring that any vaccine could be approved for emergency use if it has already been given to at least 1 million people.

Health experts expressed concern about the government's decision and said it won't help the public accept foreign jabs, in a country with already high-levels of vaccine skepticism.