Flow flex false positive?

[newtemp1name]

This is probably a really stupid question so please be gentle.
Yesterday DS (7) woke up with a small temperature and a headache. Since it is rife where I am I did a lateral flow test, picture enclosed. It went positive instantly. In the evening he got a very high temperature and was very poorly, but today is heaps better.
Now I am reading through this thread and am reading that some people are mentioning that Flow flex's are giving false positives. I am not in the UK and informed the school yesterday (as we are asked to do) and the entire class was instantly put into (another) self-isolation. Some of the other parents have gone totally wild (understandably, they were only out of self-isolation for a few days), and are furious they are put into self-isolation again on the basis of a lateral flow (and not PCR). It's got quite feisty on the parents' WhatsApp group. Since DS was very poorly yesterday I was concentrating on him and didn't think too much about these discussions until I was reading the threads here this afternoon about Flow Flex false positives.
If anyone (who has had a false positive on a Flow Flex LFT) is reading this, was the 'false' line very strong or just a faint one?

Is it possible that this test is a false positive?
As I said please be gentle, I know it is probably a really stupid question, but some parents are saying it is very uncertain that he is +.
(p.s. We don't have any lateral flows to recheck, but will do a PCR tomorrow.)

That is a very positive test

@Coffeeshopcake

Why does the class have to go into self isolation? I'm confused.

Close contacts don't have to isolate anymore.

Poster said she isn't in the UK

Although some posters here and people elsewhere are reporting continuous "false" positives on lateral flow, at a national level false positives are very very unlikely, particularly when the person has had recent contact with a covid case.

He's positive.

As he has a temperature you could book a PCR but the result (whatever it is) from that has a higher risk of being wrong than the LFT result.

If not in UK my second point May not apply.

I know sorry, I've reported my post.

Op the test, with the symptoms I'd say it's positive.

That looks very positive to me. Highly unlikely to be a false positive, especially given recent contact and symptoms

False positives are very faint and usually after the 'time' has passed. Two people I know went for pcrs based on this and the pcrs were negative.

Your test is definitely positive though.

I've had really faint lines on flowflex tests then negative pcr's but your ds's test looks exactly like my dd's did and she had a positive pcr.
I definitely think he is positive

I've had false positives on Flow Flex but nowhere near as strong as yours. Alongside the symptoms I would say there's a very good chance the test is correct and you've done the right thing by reporting it. Parents will be frustrated of course, but it's unfair of them to lash out at you for following the rules.

I had a false positive on a flow flex in October but it was a very faint greyish line nothing like yours I'm afraid and this was pre omicron.
When I had covid in December my first test was also very faint but a real positive and later tests looked like your sons.

Thank you all so much
Obviously I would much rather he isn't positive, but your comments make me feel better. I would have hated to have made a false alarm.

My daughter gets false positives with flow flex but they are very very faint- nothing like the one you've posted. I would say that is most certainly a genuine positive OP.

The false positives my DS had were very very pale and he had no symptoms at all. If there are symptoms then it’s going to be a true positive, I’m afraid x

Another one here with false positives with flowflex - but they’re super faint, nothing like the one you’ve posted!!!

You've done exactly the right thing, test when there are symptoms, keep him off school and report. It's no one's fault, so ignore comments. It looks exactly like my test this morning, and I know I'm positive.

Sounds like this is quite common at the moment after asking around. DH was positive on a LFT but it was orient gene. His PCR was negative (he wanted to be sure after a mix of negative and positive LFT). He's quite poorly but we assume the lateral flow was wrong.

@Flippydip False positives on LFTs are pretty rare - less than 1 in 1000. Given the current prevalence of 1 in 20, that's around 1 false positive for every 50 cases.

PCRs have a false negative rate of somewhere between 10 and 30%. It's much more likely that he's actually positive and it was missed by the PCR. This is why we are no longer asked to get confirmatory PCRs.

We have just has a false positive, but on the other style of test. Dd tested positive on the one with the long swab for throat and nose. Got her pcr back this morning and it's negative. She has had a fever, so I'm really wondering if the pcr is right or not!

I had a false positive on FlowFlex, but it was very faint. Both myself and my DD have had positives on FlowFlex too and they looked just like your picture. I'd be very surprised if that was a false positive.

Just to update:
DS's PCR results have come in and he is positive.
Thank you all so much for your comments :)

P.s.
Sending all good wishes to those who are positive at the moment