Why aren't people pcr testing?

[Acer82]

Spoken to two friends with dc in my child's year last few days. One child has had a temp, sore throat etc...and they have just been doing lft tests, the other child was off last week with a cold and bad cough and I said did they have a pcr and they said no, we just kept isn't the lfts. My dc from the same year has been off today, woke up with sore throat, achy, cold but no temp/cough/loss of taste/smell. I'm probably thinking ill get him a pcr anyway. I don't understand why people aren't getting the pcr tests especially when they have a cough and temp? Have people just given up on them?

@ichundich my child isn’t school age yet, so I’m lucky in that sense. But I’d much rather get tested for Covid than risk giving it to my colleagues. I don’t think I’d be very welcome at work anyway if I was coughing and sneezing all over the place. And people would be even less impressed if I was doing that and hadn’t tested for Covid!

SIL had a temp and a cough over the weekend, thought it was fine just to do daily LFT. I told her she needed to get a pcr which she booked for first thing, then merrily went into work (her boss had told her she had to come in!)

[quote FTM8987]@ichundich my child isn’t school age yet, so I’m lucky in that sense. But I’d much rather get tested for Covid than risk giving it to my colleagues. I don’t think I’d be very welcome at work anyway if I was coughing and sneezing all over the place. And people would be even less impressed if I was doing that and hadn’t tested for Covid![/quote]
We booked the test as advised by our school because we were "close contacts", not because we were coughing and sneezing all over the place. It's not feasible for many people to take time off work / school repeatedly whilst waiting for (negative) test results.

I imagine it’s the effort to get one and then the 24-48 hour wait. Plus, it’s hard to know when to go, quite honestly. Sore throat, runny nose, mild cough - yay or nay? They seem to bring something like this home every couple of weeks from school. Don’t feel we can wait 2 days each time if symptoms are not clear cut…

@ichundich it makes sense to get tested if you were in close contact with someone who had it though? I’m constantly worrying about passing it onto older relatives, and I wouldn’t be able to see them if I knew I’d been in close contact with someone who had it.

Plus, it’s hard to know when to go, quite honestly. Sore throat, runny nose, mild cough - yay or nay?

This is true. Those are the symptoms I’ve got right now (minus the cough) and it’s a PITA. But I’m due to see family and friends at the weekend so need to get it done for their sakes.

[quote FTM8987]@ichundich it makes sense to get tested if you were in close contact with someone who had it though? I’m constantly worrying about passing it onto older relatives, and I wouldn’t be able to see them if I knew I’d been in close contact with someone who had it.[/quote]
It does, but the results shouldn't take 5 days to come back.

@ichundich is that the current turnaround time? Really hope not

It’s infuriating.. at dc school there’s a major outbreak. DoH now involved. Theyve set up pcr testing in school Playground but children can go in until they get a positive result.. so ds sat next to his friend all day at school, who was then called out of last lesson to be informed he had a positive covid test.. Now ds is worrying he’s picked it up and he’ll pass it on to me.. (I’m triple vaccinated now)

What the school should do is make everyone take 2 days off everyone get a pcr test and then reopen to those who were negative..
this “have a test and go back to school while you wait for your results” malarkey is just spreading it further and further around.

Fordian I am in amazement (and possibly awe) at anyone who has made it through 18 months of this without ever needing a PCR!

People aren't testing because:

• they don't realise you can order PCRs that are delivered by Royal Mail and return them via a designated, usually very nearby standard post box
• they don't know you can order online in less than 5 minutes
• they don't know they are free
• they want to bury their heads in the sand and not know they have COVID and/or have to isolate
• GPs aren't reinforcing the need to test even when contacted

All of the above applied to my own, apparently reasonably intelligent father last week when he was really ill, his main symptom being a cough!

Oh and the final one, people don't read the Zoe testing updates and know that in many vaccinated people and the very young, coughs, temperatures and lots of taste/smell AREN'T the 3 most likely symptoms (but the government won't update them as it's not in their interest)

So can you order a postal pcr test but not use it straight away? As in, keep it for when you need it?

@Tailendofsummer yes you can because you only register the test at the time you're about to take it. Although I assume there will be an expiry date.

We've been lucky, only the DC have had to take tests when they've been close contacts and we have had the results within 24 hours.

I had a sore throat the other day which I thought was maybe tonsillitis but it went after 3 days, I had no other symptoms other than swollen glands. I’d already took lft the morning of but I’m certainly not taking a pcr if there’s no sign of any of the 3 main symptoms. It blatantly states on the government website to not get a test unless you have at least one of the 3 main symptoms. Dd now has a sore throat and nothing else. Think it’s a weird bug, she totally alright in her self, eating, dancing around, everything.
If they have a temp agreed the should be doing the pcr otherwise no!

@Tailendofsummer

Fordian I am in amazement (and possibly awe) at anyone who has made it through 18 months of this without ever needing a PCR!

I’ve not needed one, DP has had to do many due to close contact within work and dd due to a hay fever cough ( she gets it every year) school wanted her tested so that’s what we did. Me and DS are yet to do one and for good reason, I’m not doing it unless I have a legitimate reason to do so as I have ongoing sinus issues, DS has asd and literally freaks out when we tried doing a lft... so no chance unless it’s totally necessary. I know lot of people just getting pcr because they are paranoid.

Oh good god - are we still believing a PCR test cycled at 45 is going to diagnose one coronavirus from the next.

Wtf is wrong with folk.

If you can pass it on with a cough, why are you shoving a stick up the top of your nose.

FS!

This is a depressing thread. Are people really this selfish?

@pinata

I imagine it’s the effort to get one and then the 24-48 hour wait. Plus, it’s hard to know when to go, quite honestly. Sore throat, runny nose, mild cough - yay or nay? They seem to bring something like this home every couple of weeks from school. Don’t feel we can wait 2 days each time if symptoms are not clear cut…

You can only order a home test every 10 days.

I have an innate immune system disorder, which means I get a mild fever, pounding headache, sore throat, body aches, nausea and insomnia/restlessness with every virus (plus over-exercise and my period).

If I tested with a PCR everytime my school-age son or my toddler had a cold, and I had an immune flare, I would have to go to a test centre. Hence, I would need to queue with a load of people who probably had COVID in order to confirm I didn’t have it. As I work from home and rarely leave the house except to exercise outdoors, taking a PCR test would be the riskiest thing I do in any given week.

If I have a high temperature, crackling chest, loss of sense of taste/smell, diarrhoea with cold symptoms, or anything else that is atypical for the common cold - I will test with PCR.

Due to my condition and my use of the JoinZOE app, I have done 15 PCR tests since the beginning of the pandemic. None of them have been positive. Since lockdown has lifted, due to the sheer volume of viruses entering the house through my kids, they ask me to PCR test more than once a week based on my symptoms. If I also self-isolated every time I had non-specific viral symptoms, I would have been under constant house arrest for the last 18 months.

Needless to say, I wear surgical masks outdoors in crowded environments and I wear FFP3 masks indoors - largely to protect other people.

Lots of people can't afford more time off work
The government needs to give financial support to those isolating

GPs aren't reinforcing the need to test even when contacted

I was shocked by this. My partner was prescribed antibiotics by an online doctor for what he thought ‘might be a chest infection’ as he had a cough, without even asking if he’d had a covid test. I thought it would be the first thing they asked.

It's pretty straightforward - people are not booking PCR tests because it's more hassle than a lateral flow test.

Most people on this thread seem to be ignoring the basic fact that for a huge amount of people, testing positive and isolating means losing a lot of money, money they can't afford to lose. It's nothing to do with not being bothered, being lazy or not knowing better. Financially they cannot afford to isolate. It's very easy to judge and talk about civic duty when you're not in the position of not being able to pay rent, bills or buy food if you lose 10 days pay. Think outside of your outraged bubbles for just a moment .

@Mookie81

Most people on this thread seem to be ignoring the basic fact that for a huge amount of people, testing positive and isolating means losing a lot of money, money they can't afford to lose. It's nothing to do with not being bothered, being lazy or not knowing better. Financially they cannot afford to isolate. It's very easy to judge and talk about civic duty when you're not in the position of not being able to pay rent, bills or buy food if you lose 10 days pay. Think outside of your outraged bubbles for just a moment .

True.

The people to be angry with are our government for failing to support people in this situation. There’s no surprise that those on lower incomes are more badly affected.

@Londonwriter

We thats not true. I have just ordered online test twice in 1 week so 🤷‍♀️

I mean ordered online for home PCR tests