Why are people still testing for COVID

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Covid is lethal for some people, that's why. Even if it's not you, it could be a loved one or a stranger out there you'd infect.

Not more lethal than anything else like the flu.

That’s why I test for the flu. I want to know what I’m dealing with. It can be dangerous.

[Anonymous]

To virtue signal. Masking and testing are ways of signaling to the world “I am a Democrat. I do not vote Republican.”

It’s as simple as that.

[Anonymous]

This is a stupid post. I test so I would spread a miserable virus around to vulnerable people, because I’m not a selfish a-hole.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Pre Vax I was very adament about social distancing, masking, testing etc. But in our current era, COVID is just an annoyance for most like a flu or cold or similar random viral infections.

Why do people still test if they are not an extreme risk population -- work and schools no longer require, new variants are so contagious that masking at home is theater.

Using up old tests? More people aiming for paxlovid?

I'm all about people staying home when sick, are we keeping people home even when well but testing pos

Oh so the concept of protecting the vulnerable is lost on you I guess.

Yes - you stay home if you are positive even if you are sick.

I felt like this was pretty obvious but posts like this are very discouraging and really highlight how selfish we have become as a society.

Also, slowing the spread in general is helpful. If the person who spread it to you had stayed home, wouldn't that have beeb helpful?

Just because most people are OK when they get Covid doesn't mean it doesn't kill people, make many sick and cause lomg Covid in others.
It's not just the sniffles.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Pre Vax I was very adament about social distancing, masking, testing etc. But in our current era, COVID is just an annoyance for most like a flu or cold or similar random viral infections.

Why do people still test if they are not an extreme risk population -- work and schools no longer require, new variants are so contagious that masking at home is theater.

Using up old tests? More people aiming for paxlovid?

I'm all about people staying home when sick, are we keeping people home even when well but testing pos

Oh so the concept of protecting the vulnerable is lost on you I guess.

Yes - you stay home if you are positive even if you are sick.

I felt like this was pretty obvious but posts like this are very discouraging and really highlight how selfish we have become as a society.

Also, slowing the spread in general is helpful. If the person who spread it to you had stayed home, wouldn't that have beeb helpful?

Just because most people are OK when they get Covid doesn't mean it doesn't kill people, make many sick and cause lomg Covid in others.
It's not just the sniffles.

This. But certain ppl just argue about “rights.”
These are the same that bully ppl wearing masks, like it affects them personally.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Pre Vax I was very adament about social distancing, masking, testing etc. But in our current era, COVID is just an annoyance for most like a flu or cold or similar random viral infections.

Why do people still test if they are not an extreme risk population -- work and schools no longer require, new variants are so contagious that masking at home is theater.

Using up old tests? More people aiming for paxlovid?

I'm all about people staying home when sick, are we keeping people home even when well but testing pos

Because some of us understand science and recognize that getting covid 4, 5, and even more times is not healthy for us. Your risk of long covid greatly increases each time you get covid.

We also care about others, even those we might casually cross paths with. So if we are sick or contagious, we protect others

I am a scientist, albeit physical not biological

But my understanding is that a test won't stop you from catching COVID. Are you keeping track so once you hit lucky number 3 you mask up for the rest of your life? Do you maintain Level 1 containment in your house to prevent infecting family members living with you (who likely were already exposed prior to symptoms)?

I'm 100% for getting vaccinated, that should reduce severity and maybe even prevent illness. I've got all the boosters.

We don't test for flu or COVID as the antivirals have their own side effects and need to be started so early. We do test for strep as that can advance to scarlet fever without antibiotics

The tests cost like $15 a pop, so you are shelling out $50 every time someone gets a sniffle?

And you test positive well after you have recovered so it is no way an indicator of contagion risk.

I advocate staying home and isolating to reasonable amounts for any sickness; even "allergies" with sniffles and cough -- work from home and skip the class party if your zytec isn't cutting it

But testing seems pointless; will people restock when pandemic supply is exhausted?

The antivirals have side effects. The covid vaccines also have side effects.

True. For me it's the limited window of getting them. But Vax reduces mortality; antivirals less so unless you are high risk.

There is almost no risk of covid mortality unless you're elderly. And based on UK data, 95% of covid deaths are vaccinated so it's not clear that the vaccines reduce mortality in practice.

Monthly Covid Death Rate per 100,000 Population, May 2024
https://covid.cdc.gov/covid-data-tracker/?ref=quillette.com#demographicsovertime
0-4 years 0.01
5-29 years 0.00
30-39 years 0.01
40-49 years 0.07
50-64 years 0.19
65-74 years 0.71
75+ years 4.22

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Pre Vax I was very adament about social distancing, masking, testing etc. But in our current era, COVID is just an annoyance for most like a flu or cold or similar random viral infections.

Why do people still test if they are not an extreme risk population -- work and schools no longer require, new variants are so contagious that masking at home is theater.

Using up old tests? More people aiming for paxlovid?

I'm all about people staying home when sick, are we keeping people home even when well but testing pos

Because some of us understand science and recognize that getting covid 4, 5, and even more times is not healthy for us. Your risk of long covid greatly increases each time you get covid.

We also care about others, even those we might casually cross paths with. So if we are sick or contagious, we protect others

I am a scientist, albeit physical not biological

But my understanding is that a test won't stop you from catching COVID. Are you keeping track so once you hit lucky number 3 you mask up for the rest of your life? Do you maintain Level 1 containment in your house to prevent infecting family members living with you (who likely were already exposed prior to symptoms)?

I'm 100% for getting vaccinated, that should reduce severity and maybe even prevent illness. I've got all the boosters.

We don't test for flu or COVID as the antivirals have their own side effects and need to be started so early. We do test for strep as that can advance to scarlet fever without antibiotics

The tests cost like $15 a pop, so you are shelling out $50 every time someone gets a sniffle?

And you test positive well after you have recovered so it is no way an indicator of contagion risk.

I advocate staying home and isolating to reasonable amounts for any sickness; even "allergies" with sniffles and cough -- work from home and skip the class party if your zytec isn't cutting it

But testing seems pointless; will people restock when pandemic supply is exhausted?

The antivirals have side effects. The covid vaccines also have side effects.

True. For me it's the limited window of getting them. But Vax reduces mortality; antivirals less so unless you are high risk.

There is almost no risk of covid mortality unless you're elderly. And based on UK data, 95% of covid deaths are vaccinated so it's not clear that the vaccines reduce mortality in practice.

Monthly Covid Death Rate per 100,000 Population, May 2024
https://covid.cdc.gov/covid-data-tracker/?ref=quillette.com#demographicsovertime
0-4 years 0.01
5-29 years 0.00
30-39 years 0.01
40-49 years 0.07
50-64 years 0.19
65-74 years 0.71
75+ years 4.22

Why would you ignore morbidity? The CDC site shows a clear association between age and COVID-related hospitalization.

[Anonymous]

There is almost no risk of covid mortality unless you're elderly.

a good enough reason to mask up. Do you have grandparents? Older neighbors? Are they worth you doing something slightly uncomfortable so they can live?

[Anonymous]

I mean I stay home if I'm sick with anything, but no I don't test for COVID anymore. I mean even in a situation where I was visiting someone elderly I feel like if I was sick I wouldn't go. But if I had cold symptoms and was visiting someone elderly or compromised I would probably test to be polite. I'd have to go buy tests to do it.

I think people who are still living the COVID life have some unresolved trauma from the pandemic. I no longer think it needs EXTRA care. But again I am very courteous about not doing anything risky when sick. But I'm not testing everytime I get a stuffy nose.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Pre Vax I was very adament about social distancing, masking, testing etc. But in our current era, COVID is just an annoyance for most like a flu or cold or similar random viral infections.

Why do people still test if they are not an extreme risk population -- work and schools no longer require, new variants are so contagious that masking at home is theater.

Using up old tests? More people aiming for paxlovid?

I'm all about people staying home when sick, are we keeping people home even when well but testing pos

Because some of us understand science and recognize that getting covid 4, 5, and even more times is not healthy for us. Your risk of long covid greatly increases each time you get covid.

We also care about others, even those we might casually cross paths with. So if we are sick or contagious, we protect others

I am a scientist, albeit physical not biological

But my understanding is that a test won't stop you from catching COVID. Are you keeping track so once you hit lucky number 3 you mask up for the rest of your life? Do you maintain Level 1 containment in your house to prevent infecting family members living with you (who likely were already exposed prior to symptoms)?

I'm 100% for getting vaccinated, that should reduce severity and maybe even prevent illness. I've got all the boosters.

We don't test for flu or COVID as the antivirals have their own side effects and need to be started so early. We do test for strep as that can advance to scarlet fever without antibiotics

The tests cost like $15 a pop, so you are shelling out $50 every time someone gets a sniffle?

And you test positive well after you have recovered so it is no way an indicator of contagion risk.

I advocate staying home and isolating to reasonable amounts for any sickness; even "allergies" with sniffles and cough -- work from home and skip the class party if your zytec isn't cutting it

But testing seems pointless; will people restock when pandemic supply is exhausted?

The antivirals have side effects. The covid vaccines also have side effects.

True. For me it's the limited window of getting them. But Vax reduces mortality; antivirals less so unless you are high risk.

There is almost no risk of covid mortality unless you're elderly. And based on UK data, 95% of covid deaths are vaccinated so it's not clear that the vaccines reduce mortality in practice.

Monthly Covid Death Rate per 100,000 Population, May 2024
https://covid.cdc.gov/covid-data-tracker/?ref=quillette.com#demographicsovertime
0-4 years 0.01
5-29 years 0.00
30-39 years 0.01
40-49 years 0.07
50-64 years 0.19
65-74 years 0.71
75+ years 4.22

Why would you ignore morbidity? The CDC site shows a clear association between age and COVID-related hospitalization.

It is the same story. While Covid hospitalizations rise with age (particularly for those 75+ years), overall rates are still very low. In addition, covid hospitalizations are overstated because they include cases where 1) covid is the primary cause of the hospitalization (e.g. covid illness), 2) covid was a contributing cause (eg had covid, got dehydrated, fell, fractured hip), and 3) covid was not a contributing factor (eg woman admitted in labor and found to be asymptomatically covid positive).

Rhode Island breaks out covid hospitalizations into these three categories. For May 2024, only 25% of RI covid hospitalizations were actually due to covid itself as the primary cause. https://ri-department-of-health-covid-19-data-rihealth.hub.arcgis.com/ (Go to data notes, COVID-19 hospital admissions, click COVID-19 Google sheets). For the US as a whole, the majority of covid hospitalizations are not for covid illness itself. The risk of being hospitalized for covid itself as a non-elderly person is negligible.

Monthly US Covid Hospitalization Rate per 100,000, May 2024
https://covid.cdc.gov/covid-data-tracker/?ref=quillette.com#covidnet-hospitalization-network
0-4 years 3.0
5-17 years 0.6
18-29 years 1.1
30-39 years 1.5
40-49 years 2.0
50-64 years 4.1
65-74 years 11.6
75+ years 40.9

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don’t test. I don’t want to know . We treat every illness the same. Fever = stay home. Everything else, life as usual.

I didn’t have a fever with Covid so I went to work. Several kids started the summer sick with fevers because they got Covid from their teacher. Sorry! Should have tested sooner.

You were sick and went to school to teach?just no fever?

I was tired and sneezing a bit, but that was it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

There is almost no risk of covid mortality unless you're elderly.

a good enough reason to mask up. Do you have grandparents? Older neighbors? Are they worth you doing something slightly uncomfortable so they can live?

The risks for the elderly from covid are principally that it goes into pneumonia, same as for other respiratory viruses. It is a good idea to not expose the elderly to respiratory viruses; no argument there.

[Anonymous]

Odd I got the flu shot every year, I stayed home if I had the flu.

I never thought about mortality rate, I thought I’m not an inconsiderate a$$ getting people sick.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I need to see a neurologist. The blanket policy for the office is that you must present two negative tests taken 72 hours apart. Moreover, he suggests that people delay their appointments if they’ve had Covid in the past 60 days as he’s found it can temporary mess with findings.

You should *definitely* find a new neurologist.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:1. Social responsibility- consideration for others
2. Option of paxlovid
3. Accurate medical records

At-home tests don't create medical records.

Not that there's any benefit to keeping a formal record of infections. That's just weird.

I self report to my physician so that it is recorded. It’s important to note from a medical perspective.

Do you report colds? Norovirus?

The vast majority of the time you get sick you don't ever know what you had, so there isn't anything to report. What makes you think it is "important" to note your historical covid cases?