Some weeks back (around the time testing was ramped up), I recall hearing a radio programme on the accuracy of testing.False positives (i.e. where you're told you have it, but don't) are possible, but very rare.Whereas they reckoned false negatives (i.e. where you're told you've not got it, but do) could be as high as 30%, then at any rate.There were two main reasons suggested. If they test you at the very beginning of contracting it, or at the very end, the amount of infection may be too low to register.The other was the type of test. Mouth and nose swabs are not always effective in detecting the virus. In part this depends on who administers it - an inexperienced practitioner who's in a rush may not pick it up, worse still for self-administered tests.Whereas at the other extreme, tests administered in hospitals, where they actually go down the throat towards the lungs with specialised probes etc, are highly accurate.
Richard Cathcart ● 2267d