Are you lft testing as precaution.

[KCee30]

We've just had covid but genuinely curious what others are doing. Many people are saying they are doing regular lft tests because so many people have covid right now and before seeing vulnerable family members.

We haven't lft tested since our isolation ended which was in the last week.

I've been surprised today that my parents and siblings are not doing regular lft's! I know they aren't compulsory but my grandma and uncle who live together and see my family regularly are vulnerable due to age or health issues - but triple boosted.

My grandma doesn't really grasp how serious covid is. She's pretty healthy but still a risk in 80's! She's pretty chilled about it.

My parents and siblings are all going out and about too which of course they can but 2 of my siblings are totally unvaccinated as don't want it, the other has had 2 jabs but refusing booster. Parents are double jabbed but don't want booster! No mask wearing etc. I know you can still get covid with jabs but transmission is reduced.

We are meant to be seeing them this week. If we hadn't already had covid very recently I'd be really concerned but I'm hoping that because we've just had it, that we will be protected but say we had delta, concerned about omicron.

Only if I've been in contact with someone who's had Covid. Otherwise no.

No.

@elvis4nuts

Every day. Why wouldn't you with the numbers as horrendous as they are? It's free and takes less than 2 minutes.

You don't do It for yourself. You do it to protect others. And hope that others are doing the same for you.

Well they're not free are they? They might be free to the end user but they cost the taxpayer roughly £8 each. Doing them everyday is rather unnecessary unless you have a job that involves working with especially vulnerable people or someone in your household is CEV. For the average Joe, twice a week is fine unless you know you've been in close contact with a case (the app is useful in this respect). Also an insane amount of plastic waste and the tests are in short supply so those who really need them can't always get them.

@Oblomov21

No. Haven't needed to because haven't met anyone.

Every day? Selfish. LFT are in short supply here, people posting asking for any.

There isn’t a shortage of LFTs. There were a couple of days when they couldn’t be ordered online - it’s been fine for over a week now!

Besides people who are frequently testing may have built up a reserve of test kits packs at home a few months ago to cover their households, as a winter surge in cases wasn’t a surprise!

Nothing selfish about testing everyday to make sure not spreading covid around. They aren’t perfect as can be false negatives but better than nothing and hopefully pick up the most infectious

For work I normally do that once or twice a week.

I've done them fairly regular this past week, before seeing people. Not daily as we haven't seen different people each day - so did one Christmas Eve morning as parents and MIL were coming that day for a couple of nights. I did one on 22nd as visiting my sister and nephew.

I would have done one tomorrow before visiting friends but that's just cancelled as friends Dd tested positive yesterday - they'd been doing LFTs every other day or so due to mixing. Rest of tests were negative until yesterday.

[quote gloriousgolden]@santaclothes does it genuinely not concern you the sheer volume of plastics being thrown into the LFTs?! 🤯[/quote]
I didn't do them daily but generally twice a week.

Covid put me in hospital and left me with a life long condition requiring daily medication.

I work in a place withered covid is around a lot. I really don't want to risk passing it to other vulnerable people.

Yes the plastic isn't ideal but ime most people not doing them are not doing them due to their eco concerns at all. It's just the latest excuse not to bother in my experience. Obviously they'll be done who genuinely are concerned but most aren't really.

@andi62

Tested 3 times, 1 pos, 2 neg. People think lfts are free, well they cost 8 quid each, taxpayers have to pay that back - eventually.

The thing is, that's what we pay tax for. To fund these things for everyone. I don't really understand when people talk about the tax payer having to pay for things. That's is the whole point. I'm happy as a tax payer to be contributing towards every single person in the uks access to medical care and testing. Why wouldn't I be.

I've just done 6 in a row as a close contact and I won't be doing that again in a hurry - they made my nose really sore. I'll test if I'm meeting someone vulnerable but not 'just because'.

I have frequent nose bleeds so find this sort of stuff difficult anyway, I would be unlikely to get a clean test.

@WheelieBinPrincess

Every day?! How unnecessary. What a horrible waste of plastic.

I’m doing my first one in months tomorrow because we are going to a party.

Every day because I care for seriously vulnerable elderly patients. So tbh I don't care about the little plastic sick I put in my bin. I care about my patients. If that makes me a bad person so be it. I do recycle the box they come in

@drinkingwineoutofamug

The vast, vast majority of the population do not need to be testing every day. Obviously there are some exceptions. But it’s a wonderful opportunity for a bit of virtue signaling.

07:37MerryChristmas21

You don't need to 'imagine' you just need to 'listen' - so if you have covid but are not yet symptomatic, you don't pass it on to other people, who may get very sick & may even die. But if being 'cool' is more important than that to you...

Ooh I didn't know that my private testing choices known to no one in RL make me cool as well. What an unexpected perk.

Quite simply, I have had all jabs followed all lockdowns and feel testing in the event it is required by symptoms and travel is sufficient.

@WheelieBinPrincess not virtual signalling but being careful or do you want me to go on to a dementia ward , where we already have had multiple outbreaks , causing many old people to die?
But hey ho , their old and demented and it doesn't fucking matter you muppet

Only if I had symptoms

Why only test once a day, why not twice a day? You can certainly go from not detectable on LFD to detectable in 6 hours?

Not every day but twice a week until Xmas and then tested Xmas day before seeing family and then 27th before seeing different set of family.

Very difficult balance I think. Tested before seeing relatives at Christmas. Test if we have symptoms. Otherwise not, run a business in hospitality which is struggling and many rely on us for employment. No way it will keep going if my husband is never there.
Think most people testing daily can work from home or are paid anyway.

@drinkingwineoutofamug

I said there were obviously some exceptions- yours quite clearly being one of them, so calm down.

Not unless I have a good reason to. Given that Boris Johnson has now given the green light for a NYE free for all of parties, pubs and clubs why should I keep shoving swabs up my nose for the greater good.

@Remmy123 lateral flow tests are for when you don't have symptoms; if someone has symptoms they should get a PCR test.

@tulips27 yes know.

It's a pointless and wasteful exercise that gives people a false sense of security. As someone above has pointed out, it doesn't stop you passing it on if you're infectious. I tested regularly when the rest of my household had covid, and was negative every day. Did one in the morning, felt a bit like I had a cold coming at lunchtime so did another one and it was positive (confirmed by PCR done later that same day). So if I'd been out and about that morning I'd have potentially infected people despite the "reassurance" of a negative lft. So everyone throwing the word selfish around, and feeling smug because they're testing daily, you have as much chance of infecting your granny as someone who hasn't done a daily test.
If it makes you personally feel better to do them, great, but it doesn't make you any "safer" or a better person than people who choose not to.

@santaclothes the ones where you have to out to a testing centre, I mean. Not the DIY ones. I know a retired couple who regularly like to pop to one of those!
And @MerryChristmas21, if they don't know they've got it they can crack on with life - if they're poorly with it they can get a werk off work/school/etc
It's becoming the new excuse to get out of doing anything you don't want to do...."Fred is a bit sniffly so don't think he should come to work/school/unbearable family gathering he wanted to get out of etc today...."
I'm triple jabbed, I had covid last year (not nice, wouldn't wasn't it again hence jabs), I wear a mask in shops etc as is law.
There will be variants all the time, just as we don't have a cure for the common cold - it mutates faster than we can keep up with.
Lockdowns only serve to delay the inevitable unless lockdowned forever.
As a woman of science, I say we need to crack on with life. The anti-vaxxers can risk their lives accordingly and those that want to stay away from people can do so if they wish.

[quote WheelieBinPrincess]@drinkingwineoutofamug

I said there were obviously some exceptions- yours quite clearly being one of them, so calm down.[/quote]
Well then I apologise

It depends. We've tested 3 times this last few days as we've met with family who have travelled from Germany. If we were to inadvertently pass anything on, it would seriously mess things up for them in terms of travelling home. General going out we don't test.