Why Does Anyone Still Test

[Sux2buthen]

I'm not actually asking that, it's obvious to anyone why people still do of course.
I'm asking about the ridiculous faux confusion from many posters; the apparent shock that people are testing despite it being well publicised that people have it and the 'I don't know anyone that tests' or 'why are you testing?'
Don't want to test? Don't. But you're lying if you say you're confused or didn't know that others do.
Anyway, I find it annoying

@Bargello
“And yes, lots of people aren't bothered about covid any more. Because we have had our vaccines and it's now just one other illness among many which you might or might not come into contact with.”

Unless you’re in a specific group, vaccines haven’t been available this year. I wasn’t entitled to one.

And that's all dandy but it's not what the post is about.
I'm not questioning why people don't test, it's the endless feigned surprise that others do

I'm not saying you're wrong, but how can you know they've been spot on for you? You tested and presumably got either a positive or a negative result, but I don't see how you know that's right? (If you knew without doing the test, you wouldn't need to do the test.)

Well any time we tested positive we became ill, when we tested negative we didn't. We would have been testing because we had potentially been exposed to covid and didnt want to take any risks with vulnerable GP's. So the results were correct, yes we would have known anyway once we became ill, but the point is each time the tests were correct, how is that hard to understand?

I just like to know what virus I am carrying 😬, if there were tests for other viruses I would probably take them too, then I know what I’m dealing with. It’s also helps me decide wether to visit vulnerable people or not, though generally if I am unwell I will stay at home.

Erm my mum has cancer and is on chemo so I test if I have symptoms

What wasn't clear to me was that you were testing on exposure rather than with symptoms. Most people I know who test, test when they have symptoms.

I'm not sure that's a robust assessment of the test (could be missing asymptomatic cases, for instance) but it's certainly supporting evidence.

I tested positive (admission to hospital to give birth) and never got ill, but I wouldn't conclude from that that the tests don't work.

I tested and discovered I had Covid before Christmas. This prevented me infecting my elderly dad, clinically vulnerable stepmum and spreading it around school. I've got tests so I use them.

Few scenarios here. My DD19 has long Covid, and every time she’s had Covid she has ended up back in hospital with heart inflammation. So if we’ve got a cold/bug in the house we need to know what we’re dealing with, and the potential implications.

Our parents are in their 80s, and we also have a dear friend with severe MS. We wouldn’t visit them if we were full of cold, obviously. But sometimes we may just have a slight runny nose and it puts our mind at rest to test before we go round.

Some countries have multi-tests which show whether it's flu/rsv/covid etc.

Many have obviously also now got health conditions or been made vulnerable as a direct consequence of a covid infection - all ages, all ranges of health before their infection(s) - some had it asymptotically, some had mild, some severe - so it's pretty hard to say if someone isn't vulnerable.

The feigned surprise thing is really odd though.

Yes because for us we are clinically vulnerable and early anti vitals can make a difference. We've had it 3 times and tested positive each time. For us it was nothing like flu or a cold.

There's a really odd disconnect between, on one hand, some people hysterically attacking anyone who wants to test or take any Covid precautions, screaming their heads off that "it's just a teeny weeny cold, did you do this for every cold before 2020?", and on the other hand increasing numbers of other people mentioning they have lingering or even debilitating/horrifying health issues after Covid (e.g. "how do I parent my kids when I'm so exhausted?" "How do I avoing being fired from my job when I can't really work anymore?" etc). It's surreal, almost like living in a zombie movie.

The World Health Organisation have said that eventually 10% or more of the population can expect to be disabled by Covid-related issues. This is not a small number. Post-viral issues happen with other viruses but the prevalence is nowhere near as high as with Covid. It's not just about the "old" and "vulnerable": we are all "the vulnerable" because we are human. The young British rower Oonagh Cousins, formerly an Olympic hopeful, was forced to retire from her sports career for example. It's not a cold! It's not the flu! So yes, the smart thing is to test test test, isolate when ill, wear a FFP2/FFP3 mask in crowds and at the doctor's office etc. Real problems will not go away just because some people (or even most people) have a knee-jerk emotional reaction to them.

Yes but @Sux2buthen you then get posters branding people who don't test "an ignorant cunt".

I think there is a degree of surprise that some people are still testing given that nearly everyone has moved on from regular testing, and being given free tests, or being tested when going into hospital or whatever. People don't see widescale testing happening any more so are surprised that some people are still choosing to do it.

It's not something that anyone I know is doing, not when they're ill and not on a regular basis. Granted, I don't know anyone who works in a care home or as a home carer.

There are tests available in other countries that cover flu, COVID, rsv and others.
I would quite like to know what I have if I get symptoms.

I am immunocompromised and qualify for treatment though you wouldn't know if you saw me. Covid nearly killed me in 2021 though I've had it since and was fine I will never forget being so ill and can't quite get away from being nervous about getting it again.

You’re sick, you have a shit cough/sore throat/crappy headache, of course if there’s a test that can tell you what’s wrong you’ll take it!!!

@Sux2buthen I get the impression people only read your headline, not your actual post 🙄🙄🙄🙄🙄

but to your actual post. Drives me mad too!!

I think it's a reasonable question when asked in response to a fairly common post on here "I've tested positive, shall I cancel X event"
I mean, why test if you're not going to act on the result?

It's not people testing that surprises me. It's people who are obviously unwell with similar symptoms and get a negative result and then go out to to spread whatever they have around. There's no longer any thoughts for the vulnerable, because they tested negative for covid. Other illness can be deadly for the vulnerable too.

Have never tested in my life and never will.

Two of us test monthly for the ons study (and more often if we have symptoms).
We also test if anyone shows signs as have a dc whom is immunocompromised and someone who works with immunocompromised patients.
This is advised by dc consultant (I imagine they'll be a lot in this category).

Pretence? I wouldn't say it's shocking but it's news to me that you can test anymore. Who's testing? Where do you get the tests from?

I've never heard of anyone testing for covid in a long time. Most people I know have been floored at various points this winter with horrendous bouts of some kind of flu and never ending cough. No one knows what they have. Are people buying tests from somewhere to find out if it's covid? What difference does it make to them when they find out it is or isn't covid?

Thank you for the proving of the point

Sit yourself down for this… You can still buy Covid tests in pharmacies and supermarkets. Numerous people have replied to this thread and given very valid reasons of when and why they still test.

I test if I have cold/flu symptoms because if I have COVID I don't want to be around vulnerable people, especially those with poor immune systems because of cancer ect. Inevitably they end up in shops/buses ext with people unknowingly incubating COVID but if I know I have covid I can decide not to be around them.