Reply to Coronavirus good Uplifting and hopeful news only

Forum Index » Health and Medicine

Reply to "Coronavirus good Uplifting and hopeful news only"

Subject:

Emoticons





More smilies

Text Color: Font: Close Marks

[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]NYT story last weekend (sorry, I thought someone else had already mentioned it).  The gist is that the PCR tests most commonly used in the US have a range of calibrations for what counts as positive, and NYT analysis was that 50-90 (!) percent of cases reported as "positive" are likely cases where the viral load is very unlikely to be high enough to make the individual sick or contagious.

The article then reports that the cheaper, faster, less sensitive tests would likely be just as good at detecting cases where the viral load is high enough to be dangerous or contagious.[/quote]

that's not exactly right. the article states that the low-viral load positives could just be early in the course of the infection.  the main scientist quoted advocates for repeat testing, not declaring that there are actually 50% fewer cases than we actually think there are.

[/quote]

That’s not exactly what the article or pp said. The point was that a significant # of people who have been diagnosed have some level of virus in their body, but it is at such low levels that they are not contagious. They should be quarantined, but we shouldn’t be wasting resources on contact tracing with them. We should focus contact tracing on those who are truly contagious. They do also suggest more frequent, less sensitive test for this reason, as better use of resources. [/quote]

Since I read the Times piece I’ve been curious why there isn’t more talk about this. Seems like 1) it’s good news overall and 2) makes the case for cheaper more accessible rapid testing that people can repeat at home[/quote]

Think. Why do you think there isn't more "talk about this." Why don't they compare the tests being used in the US to other countries' testing? Why isn't news like this shared in the mainstream media? [/quote]

Options

	Disable HTML in this message
	Disable BB Code in this message
	Disable smilies in this message

Review message

Search Recent Topics Hottest Topics