All adults (in England)* to be offered twice-weekly tests

[MiaMc]

How do we think this is going to work?

Reportedly only 20% of people with symptoms are referring themselves for formal testing. So unfortunately I can’t imagine take up of this being high unless it becomes mandatory to show evidence of the result in certain situations.

Sadly, too many people seem to take the view that if something isn’t going to benefit them directly they can’t see why they should do it.

Then there will be those people who come up with excuses as to why they should be exempt. If take up isn’t high enough and people don’t do the test correctly it’s going to seem like an expensive pointless exercise.

• [Title edited by MNHQ to make it clear this relates to England only, and that tests are being offered but are not mandatory. Original title said: All adults to test themselves twice per week]

@ineedaholidaynow

Don’t the tests show invalid result if you have done them wrong.

Also PCR test results seem to come back quite quickly now don’t they, so not like you will be isolating for a week whilst waiting for a test result

Not necessarily. You might get an invalid result, but may also get a false negative. Or indeed a false positive.

@islockdownoveryet - I do mine twice a week, don't worry, but it's hardly a huge 'effort to lie' for those for whom the alternative would be days worth of lost pay whilst waiting for pcr confirmation. If the system were set up so that that kind of avoidance couldn't happen then it might be effective, but wirh community cases relatively low, the high false positive rate, vaccination forging ahead, and an easily subverted system, then it's pointless.

You know what I'm most worried about? The mental health crisis in children and teenagers who have had no voice in this. It's time we started to prioritise them, rather than risking more periods of isolation due to false positive tests.

Every conversation with my friends at the moment involves their worries about their children. Suicidal 12 year olds. Depressed 16 year olds. Anger and violent outbursts from 13 year olds. Literally every conversation.

I don't trust these tests one jot. The peer pressure, guilt trips to take them is pure manipulation. I'm hugely pro vaccine, but will not be taking these tests.

Urgh, high false negative rate, that should be!

i also do this anyway and find it reassuring,

I, DH & DS test ourselves twice a week. The plastic waste aspect bothers me but the testing doesn’t. I have to test for work, DS has to test for college. DH probably doesn’t need to as he only leaves the house for walks but does it to encourage our SEN son.

The testing did pick up an asymptomatic member if our staff (confirmed by a subsequent “proper” test). She NEVER felt ill soif the lateral flow test hadn’t picked it up she would have continued to be in work potentially infecting her bubble of 60 children and staff.

@CovidPostingName

They're pointless without some means of verification - of you just drip the testing chemical directly on to the test strip, the result comes back negative. So unless the test is somehow witnessed or the strips sent off for occasional retesting to see if there is human material present as well, then anyone can simply submit a negative result online. In fact all you have to do is enter a false result, you don't even have to photograph the negative test at present. Pointless.

I’m surprised that this hasn’t been mentioned more often. This is the major flaw with self testing and self reporting. As soon as someone does their first self test it’s so obvious how to enter a negative result without ever having to do the test.

It’s a very easy to abuse process.

We were offered rapid testing on the way to a 6 person picnic in a London park at the weekend. We all tested negative and it made an already enjoyable event even happier and relaxed than it would have been anyway.

I would also like to give credit to the management and users of Green Park. The were loads of distanced groups picnicking which could have lead to a litter problem but every group we could see took all their leftovers to the bins which were emptied every half hour or so. We were there about 4 hours (until the cold drove us home) and the park was as clean and litter free when we left as it had been when we arrived.

I’m concerned about the amount of plastic waste this is generating. The tiny plastic pieces are just tossed in normal household waste so they will sit in landfill for hundreds of years. How much more waste will this be if everyone in the country is offered twice weekly testing and for how long? No one in government ever seems to address the awful amount of plastic waste Covid has created.

What’s the expert consensus on the usefulness (or otherwise) of lateral flow, asymptomatic mass testing?

I’d like to support lockdown easing in anyway but it’s difficult to separate that from this government’s bloated expenditures, throwing contracts at their cronies, and the fact that they’ve probably purchased more of these tests than they now know what to do with...

Why are some people so resistant to doing things which will help us move on?. I’ve been testing twice a week for a couple of months now, it takes a couple of minutes, if that, to set up and do the test, and wait 20 minutes for the resul, 30 seconds to log it.
It’s not the most fun part of my week, but the past year hasn’t exactly been fun either!

@CovidPostingName

They're pointless without some means of verification - of you just drip the testing chemical directly on to the test strip, the result comes back negative. So unless the test is somehow witnessed or the strips sent off for occasional retesting to see if there is human material present as well, then anyone can simply submit a negative result online. In fact all you have to do is enter a false result, you don't even have to photograph the negative test at present. Pointless.

They will hope enough people aren't twats and get on with it for the benefit of all.

It is only an extra layer of identification to add to vaccines, social distances, isolating etc. Like all the options we have they never been seen as 100% reliable or a golden fleece but they are another part of the arsenal we have to reduce transmission.

I’m concerned about the amount of plastic waste this is generating. The tiny plastic pieces are just tossed in normal household waste so they will sit in landfill for hundreds of years. How much more waste will this be if everyone in the country is offered twice weekly testing and for how long? No one in government ever seems to address the awful amount of plastic waste Covid has created

Absolutely. And the horrible single use masks tossed everywhere. We are creating a huge problem with the way we are dealing with covid, maybe even bigger for the future.

I do one when I go into work (work very part time in a care home so maybe once or twice a month.) I have arthritis in my hands and can't do the test unaided. If I had to do it at home I couldn't.

@AlecTrevelyan006

What is the fucking point of being vaccinated if we’re supposed to get tested twice a week???

It’s a pointless waste of time and money.

because not everyone is lucky enough to have been vaccinated.... Jesus

[quote CovidPostingName]@islockdownoveryet - I do mine twice a week, don't worry, but it's hardly a huge 'effort to lie' for those for whom the alternative would be days worth of lost pay whilst waiting for pcr confirmation. If the system were set up so that that kind of avoidance couldn't happen then it might be effective, but wirh community cases relatively low, the high false positive rate, vaccination forging ahead, and an easily subverted system, then it's pointless.[/quote]
I agree it’s not perfect but if your going to lie just don’t bother doing the tests . Live in ignorance .
Nothing is foolproof, masks , social distancing lockdown but they only help .
For me and my family knowing that I tested positive when I had no symptoms stopped someone else catching it then that’s a good thing.

@Circumlocutious

What’s the expert consensus on the usefulness (or otherwise) of lateral flow, asymptomatic mass testing?

I’d like to support lockdown easing in anyway but it’s difficult to separate that from this government’s bloated expenditures, throwing contracts at their cronies, and the fact that they’ve probably purchased more of these tests than they now know what to do with...

There’s a link to a BMJ article up thread.

In ENGLAND. Its literally right there in the headline you linked to.

FFS

I have been doing them twice a week for the past couple of months for work. Very easy to do and record your results.

@JudgeRindersMinder

Why are some people so resistant to doing things which will help us move on?. I’ve been testing twice a week for a couple of months now, it takes a couple of minutes, if that, to set up and do the test, and wait 20 minutes for the resul, 30 seconds to log it. It’s not the most fun part of my week, but the past year hasn’t exactly been fun either!

‘Because it’s always just ‘one more thing’ that we need to do. A few months ago all we had to do was vaccinate the most vulnerable groups to open up. Look where we are now.

@AaronPurr

The tests are £5 each

Is it too late to buy shares in a testing company? Hopefully Peter will let me invest.

www.tatler.com/article/peter-phillips-making-profit-from-pandemic-xf-medical-limited

@JudgeRindersMinder

Why are some people so resistant to doing things which will help us move on?. I’ve been testing twice a week for a couple of months now, it takes a couple of minutes, if that, to set up and do the test, and wait 20 minutes for the resul, 30 seconds to log it. It’s not the most fun part of my week, but the past year hasn’t exactly been fun either!

As someone else said, selfish idiots wont do it

Appreciate the point about false positives - but assume you are asked to follow up with a PCR test if you do test positive using lateral flow so that's that one sorted

So its back to where your moral compass is really

Absolutely no way would I have anything to do with this.

Wholly unnecessary and just ridiculous.

My moral compass is on not wasting time, money, effort, and the planet on a hare brained scheme to test healthy people for an illness now well controlled by vaccinations, and mild for most people in any event.

I'm doing them through work and it's no big deal to me. I don't give a shit if anyone else does or doesn't do them tbh.