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.

Have people actually checked what tests there school was given. It sounds like some schools were given different tests

The ones my school have been using on keyworker kids and will continue to use are real nothing horrible. A quick swap around the entrance of the nose. That is it.

The tests at dds school are nasal and throat swabs

LFT at my kids school. A swab of the nose and throat, or either of the two - whichever the child prefers.

Ultimately useless, if theyre just being used however and not properly. They just need to get rid of them and the kids are a large group who will go through them fast enough.

The official instruction leaflet sent in Dec/jan was for high nasal and throat swab. Some tests are lower nasal only, just inside the nostril but I didn’t think they were being sent to schools. It probably is a case of using up the enormous stock that they bought in for ‘moonshot’

The preferred swab is nasal and throat, but if that's not possible, then just nasal or just throat is acceptable. That was explained on the original webinar 3 that was fine by NHS and DfE.

Done not fine. Damn fat fingers

Ive only read the first page and im incensed..
A poster has described the tests as dehumanising.
FFS
ITs a cotton bud up your nostril
I work in a hospital and i have to do them 2 x weekly.
It always amazes me when people refuse.
We have staff who dont comply and patients who also decline! I always think they must have something to hide.

Im sorry ,but i think if teachers (and i feel sorry for them)are putting themselves at risk by teaching our kids, then tests for pupils should be compulsory unless there is a very good reason. (Which will be hardly anyone).

@PracticingPerson
My view is the government is responsible for governing, which they have done badly. Government failures have caused very high deaths.

So 1 in 3 case are asymptomatic without testing how exactly would you suggest they pick up one these infections

@Iusedtobecarmen - I agree. I would make tests and mask wearing mandatory for school attendance unless a medical exemption (and not because the DC doesn’t like it).

[quote rwalker]@PracticingPerson
My view is the government is responsible for governing, which they have done badly. Government failures have caused very high deaths.

So 1 in 3 case are asymptomatic without testing how exactly would you suggest they pick up one these infections[/quote]
My view is this is just performance art to placate parents and distract from the real failures (will elaborate on that in a mo).

Of the asymptomatic cases, LFTs will pick up at best half. But with kids it will not reach that - because LFTs detect cases with high viral load and asymptomatic cases often correlate with low viral load.

What is better - detecting 30% of the 30% asymptomatic cases, or reducing overall cases? Answer - reducing cases.

What is cheaper - using up some shit tests you've already bought or reducing cases? Answer - using up the shit tests.

The real failure in schools is the government isn't even trying to keep cases low. No distancing, no air filtration, no extra space, no extra money. Just masks.

The even bigger failure is in some areas only 10% of people will test and isolate, due to the costs of doing so. That is the biggest problem we have. These LFTs are a tiny, meaningless sideshow to keep parents quiet.

Fwiw, I have booked mine into the test centre. I told school by email the tests are pointless but I will submit for appearances sake. I got a nice email back.

When a child gets long covid, the government would like you to incorrectly blame the few who didn't get their pointless LFTs. This is theatre designed to shift blame from government to individuals.

Absolute bullshit - but will probably work electorally.

[quote Parker231]@Iusedtobecarmen - I agree. I would make tests and mask wearing mandatory for school attendance unless a medical exemption (and not because the DC doesn’t like it).[/quote]
I would take an evidenced based approach and ban both LFT and masks. Neither has any evidence to prove effectiveness but both have harms. They are both unethical.

@Parker231
Absolutely
Im.sick if doing everything right while so many people cant be bothered- wearing a mask on the bus for one.
And now its the masks/testing in schools
Why wont everyone just do their bit.
Sick of hearing about exemptions/persons rights

We lucky that we live in country where we actually have a choice.

[quote Iusedtobecarmen]@Parker231
Absolutely
Im.sick if doing everything right while so many people cant be bothered- wearing a mask on the bus for one.
And now its the masks/testing in schools
Why wont everyone just do their bit.
Sick of hearing about exemptions/persons rights

We lucky that we live in country where we actually have a choice.[/quote]
I've done MORE than ever asked of me. My kids have complied 100% with every measure and done more.

But LFTs are a waste of time/money and a distraction.

That's my objection. I'm doing them, my kids are booked - but am still going to say openly we are being conned and these tests are shit.

There is no evidence to show children wearing cloth masks in schools prevent spread of covid but there is evidence of harms caused by wearing them and the risk of them increasing spread of covid.

Performance art😂😂😂😂

Seriously it is like people are desperate to make up or stretch any old thing just so they don't have to be put out

Plenty of UK schools have worn masks all day since September with no problems

Plenty of UK schools has been using LFT on staff and students since December or January depending on the school. Again no serious problems and some cases that would of been missed caught.

Our school is large a state secondary. Not a magical exception in anyway. Our kids are from every community in London you could imagine. Plus we have a larger than average percentage of children on the autistic spectrum. So far the consent has been really high. People here understand the effect of covid running through a school. I can only assume those that are so negative live in a rural area with no cases.

The medical professional/legal ethics around the consent for these LFTs is totally rubbish.
I took a LFT in a clinical trial and received a 19-page informed consent document for 1 test.
Obviously I don't think the school should be writing a 19-page informed consent document, but a 1 line consent by mobile phone should surely not be possible for a medical test?

There is no information about what happens to the test result etc. That kind of thing is legally required for medical stuff.

I don't disagree with the tests, but this is not how consent for medical tests is supposed to be sought or given.

Plus the data protection law about medical tests and what happens to the results is very strict.

Yet parents and pupils are provided with no information to allow them to make an informed consent (in medical terms) about this medical test.

They are illegal on data protection grounds alone. Parents and pupils need to be informed in writing about the legal basis for the processing of the data (the test result). Otherwise the testing is illegal.

@Tibtom

There is no evidence to show children wearing cloth masks in schools prevent spread of covid but there is evidence of harms caused by wearing them and the risk of them increasing spread of covid.

That is right all the experts around the world have it wrong. Why have they not asked you for your input before.

That’s not true, Tibtom

SAGE estimates a 7-45% effectiveness of wearing masks in school. Page 18.

assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/963639/DfE_Evidence_summary_COVID-19_-_children__young_people_and_education_settings.pdf

The tests will pick up more false positives than they will find asymptomatic cases given the current infection rate. That’s not an amazingly effective test, that’s quite a drawback...
I got a page of consent details from school, basically free rein to serco

@BungleandGeorge

The tests will pick up more false positives than they will find asymptomatic cases given the current infection rate. That’s not an amazingly effective test, that’s quite a drawback... I got a page of consent details from school, basically free rein to serco

All are positive tests have then had PCR tests which were also positive. So not been the case for our school.

Research on testing at the moment is early days like the vaccine research. We are going to get different results for effectiveness and different interpretations of results.

Apparently though people would rather still focus on any slim downsides rather than looking at the wider picture. Not one option we have to stop covid will ever be 100%. Most will only protect us a small amount. The biggest danger we have is people wanting something they can't have. Interest of working with what we do have.

@BungleandGeorge

The tests will pick up more false positives than they will find asymptomatic cases given the current infection rate. That’s not an amazingly effective test, that’s quite a drawback... I got a page of consent details from school, basically free rein to serco

The false positive rate is not the aspect of concern (it's very low, and any positives would be PCR confirmed)

It is the false negative rate that is the worry, as it is quite high when non-medics are carrying out this tests.

That is why it's simply not safe to use them instead of SI

But for surveillance they are useful. Say there were 10 asymptomatic or presymptomatic pupils in a sixth form.

If there were no testing, none would be discovered. Even with a test that has a high false negative rate (say 50% for discussion purposes) that's still 5 cases found that wouild not otherwise have been spotted so early.

The tests will pick up more false positives than they will find asymptomatic cases given the current infection rate.

Care to share your working?