SStanding in line for the PCR test – that is currently a reality in the centers of the Berlin Health Senate. In some districts like Neukölln, those willing to test had to endure several hours in some cases. And not always with success: some were even sent home without a test, they complain on social networks.
Is the PCR test in short supply? In any case, the laboratories are feeling an enormous demand. “Since the first appearance of the Omikron variant, the requirements in the laboratory have roughly tripled,” says Andreas Bobrowski, Chairman of the Board of the Professional Association of German Laboratory Doctors (BDL).
This not only led to a ban on vacation, but also to increased weekend work. And yet processing times have increased, says Bobrowski. The doctor himself runs a community laboratory in Lübeck. Those tested would have to wait between 36 and 48 hours for their results. Before that, it was usually a maximum of 24 hours.
Also from Bremen it is said that the PCR capacities are running out. Radio Bremen reports this with reference to a letter from the crisis team to the city’s test centers. They are asked to perform a rapid antigen test if there is a red warning in the Corona warning app. A PCR test should only be carried out if this is positive. The aim is not to burden the test capacities any further and to prioritize the tests.
Labor doctor boss Bobrowski has already gone over to this. Employees in health care and other systemically relevant professions in critical infrastructure are given preferential treatment in his laboratory. They send their samples in red, the others in white.
The latest RKI figures say otherwise
One model for everyone? It will be necessary to set priorities in the laboratory, says Bobrowski. After the employees in the critical infrastructure had cut back, the test facilities could examine those of asymptomatic people with positive rapid test results, for example.
Then symptomatic positive testers could have their turn. After all, they are relatively sure to be infected with the corona virus. The advantage: On the one hand, the critical infrastructure can be protected and, on the other hand, the PCR capacities can be spared.
The latest figures from the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) show a completely different picture: According to them, around 1.2 million PCR tests were carried out in the last week of 2021. However, the laboratories would have a capacity of around 2.4 million tests.
And so the Federal Ministry of Health also spoke this Monday that the nationwide capacities were not yet exhausted. Only: The RKI numbers are a few days old. In addition, the demand for PCR tests is likely to vary greatly from region to region. While fewer reductions are necessary in countries with a high vaccination quota, the need is likely to be significantly higher in countries with many unvaccinated people.
In Germany, free PCR tests are still almost exclusively offered in medical practices. Only those who come to the clinic with relevant symptoms or a positive rapid test will usually receive a PCR test without having to pay for it.
Even a red warning message in the Corona warning app is not always sufficient for a free PCR test, in these cases the doctor should decide whether a laboratory test is actually necessary or just a less reliable rapid test.
In Austria there are PCR tests on site
Austria is much better positioned there. In the southern neighboring country there are free PCR tests not only at the family doctor and if symptoms are present. More than 1000 of the 1400 pharmacies in Austria offer both PCR and rapid tests, reports the local pharmacists’ association.
Many pharmacists also purchase so-called point-of-care test devices with which it is possible to carry out the PCR tests on site, so that the samples do not have to be sent individually to laboratories. Pharmacies without such a device have concluded contracts with on-site laboratories that evaluate the PCR tests.
The pharmacists’ association announced that this was a “logistical challenge”. But the result speaks for itself: “At the moment, the demand in some pharmacies, especially in the cities, is very high, in others it is not,” the Austrian association said when asked by WELT.
“At the moment there are no problems with the capacities, if the demand increases, the range of tests can be expanded.” Every citizen with social security in Austria can take advantage of the tests in the pharmacy once a day free of charge.
However, Austrians do not even have to go to the pharmacy to be certain of their infection status using a PCR test. Under the motto “everything gurgles”, many supermarkets also offer PCR tests for at home. After registering, the samples must be submitted to the participating supermarket, which in turn has them evaluated by laboratories. The result should be available within 24 hours.
Austria is a good example of the PCR gargle tests, said Sepp Müller, CDU deputy parliamentary group leader for health policy, to WELT. “This is where Olaf Scholz’s crisis team has to act.” Müller calls for free PCR gargle tests to be expanded, especially in group facilities such as nursing homes, schools and daycare centers.
“Gargle tests are not only very easy to handle, but could also help beyond the initial inaccuracy of rapid tests at Omikron,” says the CDU politician. For this, the laboratory capacities would have to be expanded. “There must also be no prohibition of thinking to support pharmacies in purchasing PCR analysis equipment,” says Müller.
Such demands are well-intentioned, but overshoot the mark, countered laboratory doctor boss Bobrowski. Medically ordered PCR tests are already free of charge, as is free testing after isolation. “A demand for an expansion of free PCR tests therefore only leads to a waste of funds and not an end to the pandemic,” says Bobrowski.
But new problems could also undo this plan. Because even with the rapid tests there is a threat in the midst of the omicron wave. “The supply chains from Asia are overloaded. We order what we can, ”says Axel Theiler, managing director of the Bavarian protective clothing manufacturer Franz Mensch. But many importers are hesitant. “Some companies are now cautious when buying rapid tests.”
Chinese New Year, freight rates increased tenfold
On the one hand, they have bad memories of the price drop in summer 2021: At the latest when discounters like Lidl sold the tests for less than one euro, it was clear that the significantly higher purchase prices from the spring were no longer worthwhile. “Many importers and supermarket chains have got bloody noses through large purchases that arrived late,” says Theiler.
On the other hand, it is unclear how the market for rapid tests will develop. “Should the pandemic weaken or even end in March or April, demand will plummet,” says Theiler. Especially since the delivery times for quick tests are quite long anyway: dealers wait at least four weeks for the goods by expensive air freight. Will be delivered by ship, be it for two months or more for large quantities.
In addition, there is a threat of a shortage from China. The Chinese New Year is celebrated on January 25th in the People’s Republic. Millions of workers then travel across the country. “There is hardly anything going on in the factories,” warns Theiler. The situation is already tense: a lack of transport capacities means long delivery times. “Containers, packaging material and flight slots are in short supply,” says Theiler. “The shortage is causing freight costs to rise.” In some cases, up to ten times as much as before the pandemic.
And last but not least, the domestic demand in China is increasing rapidly. For numerous local outbreaks, many mass tests are currently being prescribed.
“The compulsory vaccination does not help in the acute situation – but later”
The deputy chairman of the SPD parliamentary group, Dirk Wiese, continues to assume that the introduction of a general compulsory vaccination “by the end of the quarter” is realistic, even “without a special session”. But he is also open to a possible expansion of the facility-related vaccination requirement.
Source: WELT / Michael Wüllenweber
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