Is anyone planning on refusing to allow their children to have the lateral flow tests.

[Witchcraftandhokum]

I'm really not looking to start a bunfight. Just tying to better understand the reasons if you are not planning on allowing your child to be tested.

@FenceSplinters

I spoke to the parent of a child in my school today, who said she wouldn’t be giving permission for her son to have the tests. She said it wouldn’t be fair for him to miss school if he was asymptomatic. 🤷🏻‍♀️

Wow! @Tessabelle74, so you think that a child whose SEN prevents them from being able to have the test should be barred from proper education? Wow!

@mimi0708

I really can't understand some people. People don't like lockdown but also refuse to test/social distance/wear a mask. Like seriously how are we meant to get out of this mess.

Times like this make me think North Korea and China may have a point 😂😂😂

Do any of those raging about the selfishness of refusing a test at least acknowledge that these tests are not AT ALL a green light that you're not infected? That what very little research has been done on their accuracy show that self-administered tests pick up max about 50% of cases that would test positive on PCR test (and 70% with v high viral load)? It just sounds as if everyone is buying into the govt narrative that this will make schools loads safer - it won't. It's arguably a useful tool for picking up some additional cases, but my gut feeling is that the flipside will be that loads of parents will now ignore symptoms if their kid has a negative lateral flow result, and send them in anyway.

This polarised self-satisfaction just sounds a bit simplistic.

I really don’t want to put my DD through it but morally I feel I can’t object.

I would not consent the throat swab on my daughter. She would be very distressed. They need a non invasive test for this to be practical. I barely managed the test myself.

@BabycakesMatlala

Do any of those raging about the selfishness of refusing a test at least acknowledge that these tests are not AT ALL a green light that you're not infected? That what very little research has been done on their accuracy show that self-administered tests pick up max about 50% of cases that would test positive on PCR test (and 70% with v high viral load)? It just sounds as if everyone is buying into the govt narrative that this will make schools loads safer - it won't. It's arguably a useful tool for picking up some additional cases, but my gut feeling is that the flipside will be that loads of parents will now ignore symptoms if their kid has a negative lateral flow result, and send them in anyway.

This polarised self-satisfaction just sounds a bit simplistic.

Picking up half the cases is better than none.

Surely that is obvious?

Anyone saying these tests are invasive are daft, it's a cotton wool bud up your nose and down your throat and takes about 5 seconds.

My baby had one at a week old, teenagers are more than capable of having them in all but very few cases I'm sure!

My 9 yr old did get her own test, with my supervision. She said it made her eyes water a bit, but was no big deal. She also wore a mask in an airport, on a 4 hour plane journey and a 2 hr bus trip in the summer. She coped again.

You want schools open all at once, fine. But ffs, just do what schools are asking.

Yes, I will give consent for my children to be tested. It's one of the sacrifices that we're having to make in this pandemic and helps to get things back to normal, which is what matters at the end of the day.

I understand this, but it's better than no testing at all especially now we have the new SA variant in here. That's why there should be a combination of measures not just testing, that's why there is still mask wearing, social distancing etc. w/c would all hopefully reduce transmission

This thread is utterly depressing. We've been doing these at work. It takes five seconds and is not invasive at all. Unless your child has SEN I can see no reason not to do this.
At the beginning all these boards were filled with people saying 'why aren't we like china', and 'we must test our way out of this'. Now we can a cotton bud is too much for anyone to be expected to deal with. It really is ridiculous

@TinaYouFatLard

My children cannot and I do not consent to any regular, invasive and dehumanising procedures to be carried out on my perfectly healthy children.

If they show any sign at all of illness, then I would test.

My son was a-symptomatic and now has some lasting issues, my husband and I caught Covid from him and it exacerbated some pre-existing health issues I have and I’m now struggling with working and physically, life in general. I have children to care for and a job to do which is important to me and the children I work with. Please try to have a more generous attitude toward other people. I wish my son could have been tested back then and we wouldn’t have been risking more vulnerable people’s lives letting him travel to school and back each day on the bus. If the whole country had thought of others not just themselves this would be a much smaller mess.

@Calmdown14

This thread is utterly depressing. We've been doing these at work. It takes five seconds and is not invasive at all. Unless your child has SEN I can see no reason not to do this. At the beginning all these boards were filled with people saying 'why aren't we like china', and 'we must test our way out of this'. Now we can a cotton bud is too much for anyone to be expected to deal with. It really is ridiculous

This!!! Very much and definitely this!! Selfish people.

@Wandamakestoast

Yes mine will be getting tested. I’ve agreed, and we’ve discussed it. There’s such a lot of selfishness and misinformation on this thread. People making decisions without even bothering to find out correct information.

1. The lateral flow tests will NOT replace isolating if there is a positive case in a bubble - this was scrapped by the govt
2. The tests are unlikely to give a false positive but may give a false negative - however they will still catch significant numbers of asymptomatic Covid carriers. 1 in 3 people are asymptomatic.
3. Those saying ‘I’ll wait until my child gets symptoms before testing’ - that’s too late, they’ll already have spread it around their class by then
4. The Lateral flow test is different to the PCR test and not that uncomfortable- I’ve had it done and it definitely didn’t make my eyes water (obviously if you have nasal issues that’s different)

I do find the idea of it being an ‘invasive medical procedure’ a bit melodramatic - we are humans, we have bodies that get ill and die, and these medical procedures are what keeps us alive.
So those who are refusing the tests as ‘dehumanising’ - on that basis I presume you never let your children have injections? Or take them to the dentist? Are my daughter’s braces to straighten her wonky teeth going to traumatise her for life? What about a smear test? Or DH having a prostrate test?
Teaching your children to be fearful of having a cotton bud up their nose is really not going to help them manage their medical procedures in the future. In fact, I would say that agreeing to these tests to reduce Covid transmission for the good of society as a whole is actually humanising, rather than dehumanising.

This was EXACTLY what I was going to say. Beautifully put.

My children have been swabbed every month for the past 8 months as part of the national covid research. They are happy to do it as they know they are doing their bit to help create understanding about the virus. They have even said they would be happy to do blood tests to assess antibody levels too, if necessary.

I do think that if we're calm about it it will help create better understanding and allow our sons and daughters to be calm about it too. No, we can't be there but you can sit them down, show them a video and talk them through it if they are concerned. (obviously this is for young people who don't have additional needs or medical issues which prevent them from having a test).

Also, the idea of 99% of the children in one classroom testing negatively, and then the one child who hasn't been consented coming in with asymptomatic covid and infecting the lot of them really gets my goat!

As the parent of 2 17 yr olds it’s not my place to consent . School have asked to have consent forms signed but it has to be their choice not mine .
I think logistically it’s not going to do what it is supposed to . After 3 in school tests the kids are being sent home with kits to do it themselves at home . I can see poor compliance in many cases as it’s unpleasant . I hope I’m wrong and enough people do it to make a difference .
Mine have consented as they just want to get through the next 4 months and have some chance of getting their A levels .

I live somewhere outside the UK where this isnt a requirement and someone else does the swabs any time a test is needed, so you have no control over how far the swabs goes in . I found the swabs horrible and quite distressing actually. Right beforehand I had incredible anxiety-full of panic and felt like I was going to burst into tears. I had a traumatic experience of a separate invasive medical treatment years ago, and I am easily triggered by certain procedures. It wasn't over as soon as everyone said it would be either, I felt like it just kept going up my nose and wouldnt stop, and my sinuses were inflamed for 24 hours afterwards. I've had two children, can have blood taken and get injections without a flinch, and happily go for my smear test every 3 years, so hardly a stranger to uncomfortable procedures. While 'dehumanising' isnt the exact term I would use, people do have the right to their own reactions.

@Calmdown14

This thread is utterly depressing. We've been doing these at work. It takes five seconds and is not invasive at all. Unless your child has SEN I can see no reason not to do this. At the beginning all these boards were filled with people saying 'why aren't we like china', and 'we must test our way out of this'. Now we can a cotton bud is too much for anyone to be expected to deal with. It really is ridiculous

Absolutely this.

Very well put

You need to keep your teachers (& by extension their families, sometimes older) safe, if they have time off you might find yourself unable to send them into school

@itsgettingwierd well it's not 50% or nothing, is it, because some would be/become symptomatic and then hopefully be caught with self isolation and PCR test. But I agree, it may pick up some extras. My point was a subtler one (which I prob shouldn't have bothered on a thread like this): is it genuinely worth the effort for the number of cases that may be picked up, given the risk that parents and staff may take false reassurance from the tests?

And by the way, 50% was the most generous finding - the study of Birmingham Uni students found it was 3% (not missed off a zero).

What I'm saying is, while there's lots of holier than thou ranting on here, I'm surprised how utterly unaware most posters are that these tests are quite shit, which worries me in terms of families' carefulness.

If you look at fairly eminent people like Professor Jon Deeks, they all question the rollout of this test.

I should add that we have been unbelievably careful and rule-abiding throughout this, self-isolating at the very hint of a symptom. If this were PCR testing, I'd be all for it. I just am concerned about the level of informed consent, and how it will impact on behaviour.

[quote BabycakesMatlala]@itsgettingwierd well it's not 50% or nothing, is it, because some would be/become symptomatic and then hopefully be caught with self isolation and PCR test. But I agree, it may pick up some extras. My point was a subtler one (which I prob shouldn't have bothered on a thread like this): is it genuinely worth the effort for the number of cases that may be picked up, given the risk that parents and staff may take false reassurance from the tests?

And by the way, 50% was the most generous finding - the study of Birmingham Uni students found it was 3% (not missed off a zero).

What I'm saying is, while there's lots of holier than thou ranting on here, I'm surprised how utterly unaware most posters are that these tests are quite shit, which worries me in terms of families' carefulness.

If you look at fairly eminent people like Professor Jon Deeks, they all question the rollout of this test.

I should add that we have been unbelievably careful and rule-abiding throughout this, self-isolating at the very hint of a symptom. If this were PCR testing, I'd be all for it. I just am concerned about the level of informed consent, and how it will impact on behaviour.[/quote]
You assume people don't know these tests aren't that accurate.

I know that. I still do it twice a week because I know they do have a proven use in a wider context.

Hi all I am a nurse on the COVID community testing team so not only do I go out and about testing people PCR style I also do my own LFT twice a week and I do my husbands LFT twice a week as he is also a nurse. Our daughter is 17 and has been asked by the school is she would consent to LFT and she is more than happy to do it and has brought her kit home today. Our son is 18 and is Autistic and has been told to get back to college he must do LFT to be allowed in when they reopen. He wasn’t keen on it but I’ve been doing it in him talking him through everything and he seems happy with it. So I would recommend people encourage their children to do it it only takes 30 seconds and then 15 mins for a result. Protect yourself and each other

@Witchcraftandhokum

TinaYouFatLard Would you also agree that it's dehumanising for teachers not to be afforded the same safety measure available to the rest of the population?

I’m a teacher and I don’t like the sound of healthy children being tested several times a week. What if there’s a false positive test and the entire bubble has to stay home? If you have symptoms, then get the test. I also don’t like the idea of children wearing a mask all day.

I haven't read all replies as it makes me so annoyed. Why would anyone be so irresponsible and not get their child tested? Surely the only way to keep everyone safe is to get all children tested. It's to help everyone. Children rarely have symptoms. I'm sure that child who takes covid home and gives it to a parent who subsequently dies will wish their peers had all taken tests. I know younger parents dying is rare...but it can happens. It's completely irresponsible 😡😡
I'm not talking about those who for some reason really can't do a test. My children will have no choice. They will do it.

@BewareTheBeardedDragon

My ds is autistic and did not cope at all with the one test he had to have at the end of last year. There is no way he could cope with that on a regular basis. I don't know what that means practically but it would be dangerous for him and those around him to try to force him (not to mention impossible since he's bigger than me).

I am a teacher and hugely in support of testing. However this is 100% the correct decision for your child and I know others will agree. Best wishes.