The voices of those who want to end Austria’s path as a free “test world champion” (© Chancellor Sebastian Kurz; VP) in order to raise the willingness to vaccinate are getting louder. He does not see “why the general public has to pay for these very expensive tests when people refuse to take advantage of the free vaccination,” said the President of the Medical Association, Thomas Szekeres, yesterday on ORF radio.
The vaccinations are “strictly controlled, approved by us, safe and effective”. Anyone who nevertheless wants to attend events or restaurants without vaccination “should pay for the testing themselves”.
Before that, the Styrian and Tyrolean governors Hermann Schützenhöfer and Günther Platter (both VP) initiated the debate about chargeable tests in autumn. From the negative phalanx of the SP countries came a relativization yesterday: In Carinthia they want the federal government to have a uniform regulation to prevent any form of test tourism.
The tests should remain free over the summer, according to the office of Health Minister Wolfgang Mückstein (Greens). In any case, one reckons with falling demand because of the increasing vaccination coverage. For children under 12, people with symptoms and those who cannot be vaccinated, the tests will remain free of charge beyond the autumn.
68 million tests
552,510 free tests (PCR and antigen) were reported by the health department as the most recent 24-hour value. Since the beginning of the pandemic there have been a total of 68.24 million, of which the significantly more complex PCR tests were carried out in 14.85 million cases. These cost up to 70 euros in individual cases. How much the free tests will cost taxpayers can currently only be cautiously extrapolated, said the Mückstein office at the request of the OÖNachrichten. By the end of the year one reckons with “1.5 to 1.8 billion euros”. The health department mainly bills the test lanes and screening programs of the federal states as well as the offers of the pharmacies. The latter receive 25 euros per antigen test.
For operational tests (so far 5.6 million) there is a subsidy from the Ministry of Economic Affairs. The proportionally most free tests were carried out in Austrian schools. By the start of the holiday, there were 35.88 million rapid antigen tests, for which around 89 million euros were paid, according to the responsible Ministry of Education. A list of the total costs is not yet available here either.
It is already clear, however, that the free tests will be reflected in the federal budget with well over two billion euros by the end of the year.
