"She's fine, we've done a lateral flow"

[Happymchappy]

I just wondered if anyone else is coming across this more and more amongst parents at school. The vast majority of people I chat to seem to be relying heavily on lateral flows these days - less so PCRs for close contacts, coughs etc.
I'm just intrigued how common this is more widely?
I'm sure if a child was visibly ill with symptoms the school would send them home and they'd get a PCR then - I've come across it more in social interactions like playdates etc.

Yes I am hearing this all of the time!

The problem is that my DD’s primary school does not ever request a PCR when children clearly have symptoms.

It is not always so easy to just get a test. I have 2 DCs in school. we dont have a car, and there is no testing centre sin our town, the nearest are a train ride away.

So we either take a symptomatic child on pubic transport or we rely on the postal tests. The last time we did a postal test, the test took 2 days to arrive and the (negative) result took another 2 days to come back. That was 4 days of missed school - with no home learning provision.

The kids immune system seem to be shot to shit, there are non covid coughs and colds circulating all over. My youngest has had a constant cold since she went to nursery.

If I am expected to take PCRs every time they get a temperature, then they need to be more accessible,

@sourcherie

I’m in Austria; we have free home pcr tests here (up to 8 per person per week) so we all use them the day before we might be meeting up with others.

Kids at school have to do at least two a week; this means they’re weeding out cases before symptoms show and stopping the chain of transmission. Also 12+ have been getting vaccinated since the summer.

There been one positive pcr test at the school (600 pupils) since term began, and no further transmission. I’m gobsmacked at seeing how it’s still spreading in the UK.

How long does it take to get the results back?

It's not realistic for everyone to book a PCR every time they get a headache or their child gets a slightly runny nose. LFTS have their place in situations where there are no specific symptoms or close contact.

@sourcherie

I’m in Austria; we have free home pcr tests here (up to 8 per person per week) so we all use them the day before we might be meeting up with others.

Kids at school have to do at least two a week; this means they’re weeding out cases before symptoms show and stopping the chain of transmission. Also 12+ have been getting vaccinated since the summer.

There been one positive pcr test at the school (600 pupils) since term began, and no further transmission. I’m gobsmacked at seeing how it’s still spreading in the UK.

Do you mean PCR or lateral flow? I'm interested in how you're all conducting polymerase chain reactions at home.

Well we've all just come out of isolation with Covid.

DS was first. No symptoms at all. The LFT showed positive so we got a PCR done. 24 hours later, confirmed as Covid. DH and I had a PCR test done as close contacts - both negative and we'd been vaccinated so DH went out to do some grocery shopping as I'd been getting aches and pains for 24 hours (during which time I'd done the PCR).

The following day I got a LFT positive, got a PCR done within 4 hours, 48 hours to get the result - positive. DH did a PCR as close contact - negative.

24 hours later he started with aches and pains and got a positive LFT. Again he got another (3rd) PCR test the same day which came back 48 hours later.

None of us lost our sense of taste until 3 days into the confirmed isolation period - DS never lost his at all. No cough until the final few days of isolation. No fever at all. Our only symptoms were feeling a bit achy - like early flu - in the early days, sneezing and a severe headache about four days in.

We had to book 'no symptoms' PCR tests when our LFT came positive. But when we were sent the test and trace form to fill in, there was aches and pains, sneezing, headaches, prickly eyes. When test and trace rang to ask how we were doing I mentioned this. The woman at the other end of the line said they were getting more reports of aches and pains than fever and coughs and had reported that 'up the line'. But the big three that get you a PCR test are still fever, coughs and loss of taste/smell...people just don't realise that aches/pains/sneezing and headaches can be Covid because it's not publicised widely. And so it spreads. DS has three friends now off with Covid. The only symptom...aches and pains.

Agree seeing this a lot even after telling people track and trace said get a pcr , just saying oh I will do a lateral flow

I took DS(4) to do PCR two weeks ago as he had cough, it turned out it was croup (I knew that already because of the specific bark cough but the school insisted). It was hard to get him to allow me to take a nose swab but we got there.
Yesterday I took him for another one as he had high temperature, lots of other kids in his class had the same symptoms and tested negative. This time he was absolutely distraught at the test centre, crying and wriggling away, absolutely refusing to do it. The staff came to our cubicle to see what's going on. I'm not sure I want to put him through this ever again...

@Cam2020

I've just had this conversation with a friend by text who says they're fine (despite a headache and feeling like crap) because their LFT 3 days ago was negative! 18 months and people still haven't got it!

Yes, people are not getting it. A headache is not a qualifying symptom to get a PCR test. The list of qualifying symptoms is by no means definitive, but considering the number of possible symptoms, if we test for everything we will face shortages of tests and a delay in results meaning that people with qualifying symtpoms will have to isolate for longer.

Wrong. People get it. They just don’t want to keep their child off school for a slight sniffle when they have missed many months of schooling already. Or perhaps they won’t get paid if isolating or having to look after an isolating child.

That said lft are great when used propelry
Picked up my ds positive case with no symptoms, then confirmed by pcr
Out if interest took a LFT 3 days later and negative so only picked up for a day or so
Its the people doing them when they have classic symptoms or have been in close contact to a case instead of a pcr that is the issue
Used twice weekly I think they have their place

I've seen this.
news.sky.com/story/covid-19-lateral-flow-tests-are-more-accurate-than-previously-thought-researchers-find-12433421

@Dancerinthedark01 how are you getting infected at the centre , your in an enclosed car

The way I understand it is that if an LFT is positive, you are currently contagious. I had covid and tested positive on an LFT for a week during my most severe symptoms. PCRs pick up viral shed, so you can test positive up to 90 days after (so the person at ONS told me!) afterwards. So a PCR can detect if you have/had covid, but LFT's are better at picking up if you are actively contagious and have current, active infection. Scientists are already changing now to say LFT's are better than initially though for this reason.

There was a recent news item that said LFTs were about 90% accurate so I assume that's why people are relying on them coupled with the instant result they give.
I'm full of a cold at the moment and awaiting a PCR result 2 days and counting and with a negative LFT it's not going to stop me go out to the Post Office later.

@CloseEncountersOfTheTurdKind

In the instruction booklets for the new rapid antigen tests it says that you can use them with symptoms

I’m not in England and where I am this “lateral flows aren’t reliable with symptoms” thing does not exist at all. I’d assumed the “lateral flows regularly, PCRs with symptoms” message was to keep pressure off the labs but I saw a U.K. TV doctor say lateral flows weren’t appropriate with symptoms the other day so I’m totally confused. In my experience of Covid tests (and I do some Covid management at my place of work so I hear a lot of case studies) it seems -ve LFs then +ve PCR was a big Alpha variant thing but we’re not getting it to the same extent with Delta

i got my pcr by post and the result was back in less than 24hours

Yes there actually seems to be a shift into the fact that LFT (or antigen tests) are actually fairly valid and give fairly accurate results.

All of our positive LFTs have been followed by positive PCRs and vice versa.

GIven the lab issues (which is a HUGE factor in the current numbers)

DD had it last week and never tested positive on a lateral flow, only on pcr.

Isolating whilst waiting for a PCR test result just isn't feasible for a great number of people. They need to work, and can't have time off whilst at home with a child with a cold, or when they have a cold themselves. Therefore it's not unreasonable to only get a PCR test when displaying one of the three symptoms that are necessary for a PCR test. I they're doing LFTs, and they don't have one of the three symptoms, that is fine because it is an asymptomatic test, even if they have cold symptoms, which we're all being asked to do regularly. If the government actually want people to get a PCR test and isolate when they have any of the actual known (i.e. cold/headache/sickness) symptoms then they need to beef up the legislation surrounding this quite a lot. Sick pay in those instances needs to be guaranteed, and employers need to be required to allow an employee time off when they wait for a PCR test result, or if their employees have children waiting for test results. But there's no way on Earth they are going to do that, it would cause absolute chaos, there'd be too much absence from work, and essential services would grind to a halt. People who are just following the guidance aren't to blame for any of this, they can't make their employer allow them to have time off work for a cold for example. The guidance is what it is, and those who write the guidance know full well that it isn't the best guidance to actually stop the spread of Covid, but direct your ire at the right people please.

We tested every day for a week, she had mild cold, neg, so went into school, got more unwell so stayed off , still negative, same day did a pcr, positive. Tbh we won't be doing them again, I'll just do pcr in the future if she becomes sick.

She also didn't have any of the classic symptoms.

Hence why our rates are sky high - science is not keeping up!

@sourcherie

I’m in Austria; we have free home pcr tests here (up to 8 per person per week) so we all use them the day before we might be meeting up with others.

Kids at school have to do at least two a week; this means they’re weeding out cases before symptoms show and stopping the chain of transmission. Also 12+ have been getting vaccinated since the summer.

There been one positive pcr test at the school (600 pupils) since term began, and no further transmission. I’m gobsmacked at seeing how it’s still spreading in the UK.

This would be far better to PCR everyone as I see from this thread that people are not positive for long with LFTs. We are doing them twice weekly.

The LFTs we have say you can use them with symptoms.

But in any event, the argument is that you don't use them with symptoms But that is, presumably, with COVID symptoms. Not with cold symptoms.

So if you have a cough or a temperature isolate and order a PCR.

If you have a sniffy nose or a sore throat, use a LFT.

The loss of smell or taste is a pretty sure sign you have covid anyway.

As for spreading it to someone who might die from it, all adults should be immunised now - their fault if not (and yes I do know some people can't have the vaccine but presumably they are not the ones dancing around indoor spaces without masks on).

People are relying on Lfts because the government has been totally useless at updating the symptoms that mean you can get a pcr test.

DD got one with no symptoms at all because I said she was a close contact to someone with a positive test. This was not a contact notified by T&T.

Yes hearing this a lot. And a lot of 'it's just a cold' or 'will be off today as has a temperature' with no mention of LFTs or checking for covid.

But I get it... parents are trying to get on with work and keep children in routine and education as much as possible. Yes it lacks foresight but we really do just want to get on with lives.