Unilabs starts supporting Covid-19 vaccination programs

Geneva, 19 February 2021: Unilabs, the leading European diagnostic group, has started to support ongoing Covid-19 vaccination programs and helped create the first vaccination drive-through in Portugal - one of the first in Europe. Initial vaccination services are already up and running in Portugal, and other countries are likely to follow suit.    

“We are working with local health authorities to find creative ways to help them roll out life-saving vaccinations programs to their populations,” said Dr Christian Rebhan, Unilabs’ Chief Medical and Operations Officer. “Alongside the ongoing Covid-19 testing at our drive-through facilities, we are now also offering Covid-19 vaccinations in Portugal – a vital step on the road to beating the virus and finally returning to normality.”

Unilabs provides a wide range of reliable, scientifically advanced Covid-19 tests across its network, and is ready to follow up on vaccinations by providing antibody testing that helps evaluate patient immune response to the vaccine – in essence, checking that the vaccine has done its job. As with many aspects of Covid-19, more research on the human immune response to the individual vaccines and the resulting level of protection is required.

Since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic, Unilabs has performed more than 7 million Covid-19 tests – PCR, antibody, and antigen.

As the virus mutates, Unilabs is introducing innovative new techniques and technologies to improve, speed up, and broaden testing. This includes tests that specifically identify variants such as the UK or South African variant, as well as new kinds of tests such as saliva or gargling tests. 

With a network of labs and experts across 17 countries, Unilabs is actively helping health authorities and governments design and implement their testing strategies, as the end of the Covid-19 pandemic comes into view. Reliable testing and effective expert analysis are particularly vital in the critical last phase – the imminent lifting of restrictions and the resulting increase in mobility.          

Media contact:

Alistair Hammond, Director of Communications

e: Alistair.Hammond@unilabs.com

t: +44 771 773 0441

About Unilabs

Unilabs is one of Europe’s largest diagnostics companies. It offers a complete range of laboratory, pathology and imaging services for patients all around the world. With 12,700 employees across 150 imaging centres and 250 labs in 17 countries, we perform more than four million lab tests a week – saving lives every single day.