This blog may help people explore some of the 'hidden' issues involved in certain media treatments of environmental and scientific issues. Using personal digital images, it's also intended to emphasise seasonal (and other) changes in natural history of the Swansea (South Wales) area. The material should help participants in field-based modules and people generally interested in the natural world. The views are wholly those of the author.
Tuesday, 12 January 2021
Gently Flows the Innova Test
I seem to have been ranting on about this for ages. Anyone, with a functioning neurone, could have worked out that the Innova lateral flow test for Covid-19 is only suitable for quick and crude assessments (it's far from having the claimed 77% accuracy). Now, a number of experts, including Professor Jon Deeks of Birmingham University, have called on the UK government to halt (or at least pause) the mass testing programme for symptomless people in care homes, schools and the community (https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/jan/12/experts-call-for-rethink-lateral-flow-mass-testing-covid-uk). One can't say too many times IT ONLY PICKS UP 60% OF INFECTIONS. Many of the asymptomatic carriers of the virus will not be detected (claims to the contrary are a con). Being quick and not requiring a laboratory, will be little consolation, if their result gives people a false sense of security. Apparently 'cleared', aymptomatic people will generally change their behaviour and transmission rates could rocket. I really can't understand the apparent faith placed in this technology. They either don't understand the test or think that the activity around it makes good 'window-dressing'.
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It's a pretty obvious observation. Every night, on the BBC news, we are shown 'graphs' of the daily numbers of positive Covid-19 tests. The recent 'increases' in this 2nd wave are depressingly high. Most of these positives , however, will be obtained from people, with symptoms, going for the lateral flow test. The totals are consequently going to be a gross underestimate to the rate of infection. Using the lateral flow test on asymptomatics, isn't going to make it much more accurate, as around half will not register as positives.
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