Why can't we all have the same test?

iT looks like there are trade-offs between speed and accuracy.

U.S. FDA warns about false positive results from COVID-19 antigen tests

”...Antigen tests detect proteins on the surface of the virus. They require an uncomfortable nasal or throat swab, and can produce results more quickly than molecular tests – which detect genetic material in the virus – but are considered less accurate…

”...The U.S. government has signed agreements with several companies including Becton Dickinson BDX.N and Quidel Corp QDEL.O to supply antigen tests to U.S. nursing homes in an attempt to identify outbreaks faster and stem the tide of the virus.

“In September, Becton Dickinson, which is supplying 750,000 of its SARS-CoV-2 antigen test to the U.S. government, said it is investigating reports from U.S. nursing homes that its rapid coronavirus testing equipment is producing false-positive results.”

My guess is partly because they are not as accurate, and maybe partly because testing facilities bought the ones that take more time in the beginning and aren’t laying out more money for another type of test kit.

The quick ones aren’t PCR testing so they are good for if someone is shedding a lot of virus, but the PCR will detect smaller amounts of virus.

The military always has things that the private sector doesn’t always have, or doesn’t have in quantity. The military will get vaccinated first. They don’t follow the same regulations or standards as the states for many things.

I grew up in military care and some of the tests and treatments I received none of my other peers had except for other military friends.

Your son was flying, so they wanted to know at that moment is he likely shedding enough virus to infect people.

Mostly, the answer is probably you can’t have the same because of money, but also because the average person won’t get tested day after day, so if they have a suspicion they are likely to be exposed or sick, the PCR will be most likely to detect it.

the quick ones aren’t as sensitive.

Reading my post above, I now suspect my mother had a false positive test result.

She just left the hospital after being admitted with a positive covid test in a nursing home. She is 89, with a history of coronary disease and strokes. It was scary.

But she never developed much in the way of symptoms. No respiratory distress, thank goodness. I was happy thinking she had some immunity. Maybe the nursing home staff will be lax around her. I can see the real harm false positives can inflict.

@Call_Me_Jay: Some people are lucky in that they do get the virus but with no symptoms.

Yes, some do. But the odds were not good for Mom. We will probably never know the truth. I’m not fretting about it.

People that show little symptoms may be given a quick and easy test, whereas those who show all or most symptoms will be given more in-depth tests.

It depends on how much symptoms you show and the emergency level.

@Call_Me_Jay False positives isn’t really the problem. False negatives are more common because they need a certain amount of the virus to be present at the time they swab. So people think if they are negative and then show positive soon after but don’t have many of the symptoms that they probably never had it. What it usually means is the first test was taken too soon or that the person was exposed soon after taking the test. Glad your mom is doing better.

The Guardian – Thu 5 Nov 2020 – Rapid Covid test missed over 50% of cases in pilot – “The 20-minute tests, on which the government has spent £323m for use with hospital and care home staff with no symptoms, identified only 46.7% of infections during a crucial trial in Manchester and Salford last month.”