Federal Minister of Health Wolfgang Mückstein visits Vienna BioCenter

Today, Austria’s Federal Minister of Health Wolfgang Mückstein visited the Vienna BioCenter. Through presentations and a campus tour, the contributions of Vienna BioCenter scientists in fighting the Covid-19 pandemic were showcased.

At his first visit to the Vienna BioCenter, Federal Minister of Health Wolfgang Mückstein learned about the extensive contributions of Vienna BioCenter scientists in the struggle to contain the Covid-19 pandemic. 

Several researchers at the Vienna BioCenter advise the government on expert panels. Innovative protocols for testing by gargling or new technologies for mass detection of positive samples, which had their starting point at the campus, are now widely used. Vienna BioCenter companies are also working on the development of vaccines, tests, or drugs to treat Covid-19. 

Against the backdrop of public discussions about the stagnant levels of Covid-19 vaccinations in Austria, the minister was shown a remarkable figure: 97.4 percent of the approximately 800 employees at the campus' non-university research institutes have already been vaccinated.

"This is remarkable, not least because the people covered are on average very young," Harald Isemann, Chairman of the Vienna BioCenter, is pleased to say. "We see one thing very clearly here: people with expertise and access to scientific information are virtually all going for vaccination without hesitation."