Austria’s vaccination rate stagnated for a long time. Recently it could be increased a little. Nevertheless: Austria cannot keep up with any of the other European countries at the moment. It is different with testing: Here we are European champions.
No other EU country is currently testing as much as Austria. The “free” corona tests are very expensive for citizens. They cost billions, as the answer to a budget request from Neos has shown. The Ministry of Health expects test costs of 1.6 billion euros for the current year. Next year it should be another 1.3 billion euros.
The Vienna think tank Agenda Austria has now calculated: The expenses for vaccinations also seem downright modest.
“The high test costs also show that free means anything but free”, analyzes Agenda Austria Director Franz Schellhorn. However, Schellhorn emphasizes that sufficient test capacities are important to prevent the pandemic from spreading rapidly. But what you shouldn’t forget: “Even more important is a high level of vaccination for the population. We need to prevent further lockdowns that are wreaking havoc on the country’s economy. ”
In contrast to testing, Austria lags behind all European countries when it comes to vaccinating, which is even more important.
