Yes, university is testing everyone before moving on to campus, but...

[Anonymous]

they're letting the students self-administer! They hand out a college marketing bag with a thermometer, hand sanitizer, a college logo'd face mask and the test. The instructions were "insert the swab until you feel resistance". After I showed my niece a picture of a real test, she's positive she didn't stick it all the way in. Of course she tested negative (although she's been social distancing, and is from a rural low-affected area, so pretty sure she is). But this may give some insight into the very low test numbers showing up across college campuses if they're all doing it this way.

[Anonymous]

You do know all the CVS tests are self-administered, yes?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You do know all the CVS tests are self-administered, yes?

I didn't even know there were CVS tests, so no. Are these counted in the CDC #s?

[Anonymous]

They do make tests that don't go in far. I had one last week. It was self administered but the person at the testing center have directions to go about an inch in. The entire swab was only the length of a standard qtip, maybe a little longer.

[Anonymous]

Well Montgomery County's test for the last two weeks (~18,000) have apparently been invalid so...who the hell knows.

https://bethesdamagazine.com/bethesda-beat/coronavirus/state-orders-advagenix-to-stop-covid-19-testing-due-to-improper-procedures/

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:They do make tests that don't go in far. I had one last week. It was self administered but the person at the testing center have directions to go about an inch in. The entire swab was only the length of a standard qtip, maybe a little longer.

I took the CVS test today. I self-adminstered, but the technician in the window watched me do it. It was not the “scrape the brain” version. Basically he had me put it in to a point where it was uncomfortable, but not painful. I described it as being past the point you’d be if you were picking your nose, lol. So into the nasal passage, but not deeply in there.

[Anonymous]

You may have confused her more! These are not the "deep" tests. I watched my kids do theirs - three circles in one nostril and three in the other. Pushing it too deep could be dangerous. Unless you know the system the school uses, don't interfere.

[Anonymous]

A lot of colleges are using mail in saliva tests

[Anonymous]

My kids' mail in test was more like a throat culture--similar to what you would do for strep throat. Clear directions and easy to do.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:They do make tests that don't go in far. I had one last week. It was self administered but the person at the testing center have directions to go about an inch in. The entire swab was only the length of a standard qtip, maybe a little longer.

I took the CVS test today. I self-adminstered, but the technician in the window watched me do it. It was not the “scrape the brain” version. Basically he had me put it in to a point where it was uncomfortable, but not painful. I described it as being past the point you’d be if you were picking your nose, lol. So into the nasal passage, but not deeply in there.

That's interesting. I was with DS when he stuck it up at CVS drive by. He was told to stick it as far as when it could not go anymore up and hit the wall, to turn it up several times. It was easy to see it was extremely uncomfortable and painful for DS. He is a younger adult. He had to do it twice, obviously, and was telling me he had no clue he could stick something up that far in his nose and how it was like trying to reach the brain.

[Anonymous]

We did our own at McLean Pharmacy.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:They do make tests that don't go in far. I had one last week. It was self administered but the person at the testing center have directions to go about an inch in. The entire swab was only the length of a standard qtip, maybe a little longer.

I took the CVS test today. I self-adminstered, but the technician in the window watched me do it. It was not the “scrape the brain” version. Basically he had me put it in to a point where it was uncomfortable, but not painful. I described it as being past the point you’d be if you were picking your nose, lol. So into the nasal passage, but not deeply in there.

That's interesting. I was with DS when he stuck it up at CVS drive by. He was told to stick it as far as when it could not go anymore up and hit the wall, to turn it up several times. It was easy to see it was extremely uncomfortable and painful for DS. He is a younger adult. He had to do it twice, obviously, and was telling me he had no clue he could stick something up that far in his nose and how it was like trying to reach the brain.

there are two kinds of swab tests. The self administered ones are not the ones that ‘tickle the brain’.

[Anonymous]

Letting college kids self-administer these tests isn't going to end well. Sorry to those saying "we administered our own at the drugstore and it's fine" etc., but get real: Many students will balk at at sticking the test swabs up their own noses, even the less "deep" test swabs. That's going to mean tests that don't acquire enough material for analysis and have to be re-done, which sucks up time that should have been spent on gettng test results. Or: Some students will put off testing themselves, so the colleges have to waste valuable time haranguing them to turn in the test swabs, etc.

Sure, as people on DCUM love to say over and over, they're adults and should be in charge of their own health. But we're already seeing how these "adults" are acting at universities that have just gone back in person, with partying and outbreaks in the first weeks of school. Not exactly a great recommendation for letting all students "be adults" and do their own testing.

I think it's a case of large universities being screwed by their sheer size. They can't logistically manage testing unless they have students self-test. And self-tests technically work, but we'll see how many tests end up missing infections.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Well Montgomery County's test for the last two weeks (~18,000) have apparently been invalid so...who the hell knows.

https://bethesdamagazine.com/bethesda-beat/coronavirus/state-orders-advagenix-to-stop-covid-19-testing-due-to-improper-procedures/

NP. And to note from article above -- these were all self-administered tests. The replacement ones will be administered by a nurse etc.

[Anonymous]

How do they know the student didn’t test their mom or brother, especially if the student has symptoms but is trying to go anyway?