Lateral flow testing - false positive rate

[1starwars2]

DS1 is due for his 1st test tomorrow. DS2 is already back and had 2 negative tests. I am a bit tempted to cancel consent for testing for DS1. He desperately needs to be back in school. He is super unlikely to be positive (hardly left his bedroom).
I am reading BBC news about the school return being ruined for families who have (false) positive LVT tests then negative PCR but whole family still can't return to school.
DS will want to test (and not make a fuss). I want him to too, but I am increasingly worried about chance of a false positive. He has been out of school too long, and I don't want him to miss another 10 days.
Why won't schools/the government allow a 2nd more accurate test with a positive LFT?

The science suggests less than 1 in 1000 tests would result in a false positive so it is very unlikely to occur.

in an average secondary school, that means almost every week there will be one false positive per school. More in bigger schools, so it is actually a big issue. Once you test hundreds of thousands of students, even a 99% accuracy rate will produce thousands of false results.

I believe the government have back tracked and will now accept a negative pcr test after a positive lateral.

They are only doing 3 at school. Most of them have done one or two already. After next week they’ll be doing them at home and that will lead to a PCR if it is a positive LTF.

Guess it’s up to your conscience if you think the chances of a false positive meaning you may need to isolate unnecessarily - a 1 in 1000 chance but you could be the 1 - is not worth the prospect of finding children who are asymptomatically positive and the therefore preventing the spread of Covid 19 to the thousand plus people they are interacting with.

They do confirm it though, with a second lateral flow test, it's unlikely to falsely test positive on both. I also offered to help test and the set up is extremely good (and I'm a HCP).
DS has been asked to SI as his "bus buddy" tested positive on the lateral flow yesterday. He tested positive on the second lateral flow, they are also having a PCR as a precaution.

@IggyAce

I believe the government have back tracked and will now accept a negative pcr test after a positive lateral.

No, if they’re done in school the LFT is assumed correct and you can’t override it.

If it’s done at home (as they will be after the first 3), then a positive will require confirmation by a PCR.

one of my daughters school have said that if they get a possitive LF test they will do a PCR test for them as they have them on site.
They can return to school after results are in

@tiggermummy70

one of my daughters school have said that if they get a possitive LF test they will do a PCR test for them as they have them on site. They can return to school after results are in

We’ve been told this too. Unless there is SEND or MH issues I really don’t see why anyone wouldn’t consent and have their dc do them. I’ve ordered the pack for the rest of the family to do as well.

Our school has said whole family should isolate (no 2nd LFT, no PCR).

@IggyAce

I believe the government have back tracked and will now accept a negative pcr test after a positive lateral.

I don't think they did a U-turn in the end 🤦‍♀️. It is totally ridiculous and I am also considering withdrawing consent for my son who desperately needs to be back at school too. We will happily do home tests, but I do not want him having to isolate for 10 more days unnecessarily.

How do you know it is unnecessary? PCR can have false negative too. The LTF might be correct.

@1starwars2

Our school has said whole family should isolate (no 2nd LFT, no PCR).

That’s ludicrous and not in keeping with guidelines. Is it a private school?

www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-56349116

I queried whether this was school policy with my ds's Headteacher and he said it is. If you test your dc with a LF test at home and they test positive but a follow up PCR test is negative, they can return to school.

If they do a LF test in school and it is positive, they HAVE to self isolate for 10 days regardless of a negative result on a PCR test.

It is bonkers and makes no sense.

Yup, that's why I'm withdrawing consent.
Will happily test at home though

Same...we have withdrawn consent and testing at home before school on the days the rest of the class are testing in school.

Yes ones done in school whole family has to isolate even with negative PCR - our school said its the law. And next two in school will probably shut two school years down with false positives for 10 days.

@13lucky

www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-56349116

I queried whether this was school policy with my ds's Headteacher and he said it is. If you test your dc with a LF test at home and they test positive but a follow up PCR test is negative, they can return to school.

If they do a LF test in school and it is positive, they HAVE to self isolate for 10 days regardless of a negative result on a PCR test.

It is bonkers and makes no sense.

It really is 🤦‍♀️