Austria spends billions on corona tests. With more than half a million PCR tests per day, Austria is the “test world champion”. However, testing is now much more expensive for taxpayers than vaccination. The beneficiaries of the many tests are large laboratories such as Lifebrain and Novogenia. Now there is an end to the free tests in the room. Video: How useful are free tests and could an end act as an incentive to vaccinate?
A request from Neos revealed that the Ministry of Health alone expected 1.6 billion euros for testing in 2021. 1.3 billion euros are calculated for this year. The school tests, for example, are not included. The costs for vaccination amounted to 0.47 billion euros in 2021, and 0.75 billion euros are estimated for this year.
340 million euros for vaccine
The Ministry of Health said on Tuesday that around 1.8 billion euros in test costs had been paid out since the beginning of the pandemic by the end of December 2021. The costs of the operational tests and the tests at the schools are not included here, according to a spokesman. These are handled by the Ministry of Economy and Education.
On Tuesday, the Ministry of Finance said on request that the federal budget for 2020 and 2021 had so far covered 2.6 billion euros for tests. For comparison: The procurement of vaccines accounted for around 340 million euros in the same period; However, the costs for operating the vaccination lines are not included in the invoice from the finance department.
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32 tests per inhabitant since the beginning of the pandemic
Around 97 million PCR and around 189 million antigen tests have been performed since the pandemic began. In total, that’s a good 286 million tests or 32 tests per inhabitant. The figures include the official tests from the daily federal state reports as well as the tests in pharmacies, schools and companies as well as those in tourism. The 286 million tests are compared to around 17.9 million vaccine doses administered.
Around half a million PCR tests are currently evaluated every day, four out of five PCR tests are carried out in Vienna. The federal capital has raised its “Everything gargles” program and has carried out over 40 million PCR tests since then. Laboratory partner is Lifebrain, the self-test kits and website come from Lead Horizon, which is backed by innovation consultant Michael Putz and virologist Christoph Steininger.
Lifebrain with a daily turnover of 2.4 million euros
According to Lifebrain boss Michael Havel, the laboratory of the city of Vienna charges almost 6 euros per test. With 400,000 throat tests a day, that makes a daily turnover of 2.4 million euros. The costs per test are also estimated to be similar in the other federal states. In Salzburg, for example, according to a state parliament request from the SPÖ, between 5.45 and 7.53 euros per test are incurred, depending on the pool size.
The costs for an antigen test are of a similar magnitude. Companies, for example, receive a flat-rate contribution from the federal government to costs of 10 euros for each antigen or PCR test carried out and reported. The money is paid out quarterly via the aws funding agency. Pharmacies, in turn, get 25 euros per test.
The second major player in the market for PCR laboratory tests alongside Lifebrain is the Salzburg laboratory Novogenia. Founder Daniel Wallerstorfer brought the laboratory to the stock exchange in Munich at the end of 2021 by means of a silent listing and wants to give up the majority. Lifebrain, founded by Havel, until recently belonged to a financial investor who, according to “trend”, sold the laboratory group in 2021 for 1.2 billion euros to the French health care group Cerba HealthCare.
“It gets overdone”
According to “trend”, the Tauernklinikum in Zell am See is also big in the business with corona tests. The hospital operator, which belongs to the municipality of Zell am See, founded a joint venture with the large laboratory Procomcure in Thalgau with three laboratory locations in Bergheim, Graz and Innsbruck. In Lower Austria, the IT company Artichoke Computing GmbH entered the business under the name Covid Fighters.
The many corona tests are also being questioned behind closed doors in the industry. “It is well intentioned to offer free PCR tests on every corner. But it is being exaggerated and has contributed to the low vaccination rate,” said one of the large laboratory operators in “trend”.
Source: Nachrichten
