Scientists in Liverpool mass Covid testing trial d
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Posted On: 12/23/2020 5:51:45 PM
Scientists in Liverpool mass Covid testing trial defend rapid tests
Professor says programme was very helpful, despite criticism about accuracy of lateral flow tests
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/dec/23...apid-tests
Excerpt-
Sir John Bell, regius professor of medicine at the University of Oxford, said the lateral flow tests were a “central bit of good defence” against coronavirus because they were “fast, cheap and available for repeat use”, unlike the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test, which is more accurate but has to be sent to a laboratory, delaying results for days.
As many people got asymptomatic Covid-19 – current government guidance suggests a third of infected people have no symptoms – every case caught by the LFTs in mass testing was a “win”, he said.
The newly published Liverpool data said that lack of access to online information and deprivation were major factors in suppressing testing turnout. A third of the city’s areas were considered deprived, and uptake there was half the average while the number of positive cases was three times higher, said Prof Iain Buchan, executive dean at the Institute of Population Health at the University of Liverpool.
“Fear of not having enough financial support in isolation was the biggest perceived barrier for testing,” he said.
Reflecting on the trial, he said: “The bottom line here is it used a rapid low-cost test that can be carried out anywhere to pick up two-thirds of most infectious people.
“The main conclusion I would draw is trust local communities to self-organise around the smart testing approach. It’s their livelihoods and their lives at stake.”
Professor says programme was very helpful, despite criticism about accuracy of lateral flow tests
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/dec/23...apid-tests
Excerpt-
Sir John Bell, regius professor of medicine at the University of Oxford, said the lateral flow tests were a “central bit of good defence” against coronavirus because they were “fast, cheap and available for repeat use”, unlike the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test, which is more accurate but has to be sent to a laboratory, delaying results for days.
As many people got asymptomatic Covid-19 – current government guidance suggests a third of infected people have no symptoms – every case caught by the LFTs in mass testing was a “win”, he said.
The newly published Liverpool data said that lack of access to online information and deprivation were major factors in suppressing testing turnout. A third of the city’s areas were considered deprived, and uptake there was half the average while the number of positive cases was three times higher, said Prof Iain Buchan, executive dean at the Institute of Population Health at the University of Liverpool.
“Fear of not having enough financial support in isolation was the biggest perceived barrier for testing,” he said.
Reflecting on the trial, he said: “The bottom line here is it used a rapid low-cost test that can be carried out anywhere to pick up two-thirds of most infectious people.
“The main conclusion I would draw is trust local communities to self-organise around the smart testing approach. It’s their livelihoods and their lives at stake.”
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