400,000 new cases of Covid in the U.S. reported in one day that we know about , the real number is surely higher , is driving testing up .
Rapid tests there is a shortage of .

Testing
 

Agree- unless test results are needed for travel what exactly is the point of waiting possibly hours in line to find out if you have the flu, cold, or COVID? Does having either confirmed make you feel any less sick? Wouldnt you be more comfortable at home in bed, treating the symptoms - like we all did before all this started?
Seriously, what difference does it make?

If you are not going to get vaccinated why test? The test is only valid at the time it is taken. After the test you might contract it. Testing is a waste of money and time.

Most of the responses are against testing and for many good reasons. I would have heartedly agreed 2 days ago. As of yesterday I still agree, however, not to the same degree. Yesterday I was feeling like crap. I had a stuffy runny nose, coughing, sneezing, a slight headache and a slight back ache. I happen to have 2 BinaxNOW tests kits which I bought a few months ago. So I opened one and did the test. I was expecting a negative result – probably a cold or maybe some flu symptoms. No such luck it came up positive. I immediately texted my doctor to see what, if anything, I should do. He has not, as yet, gotten back to me. I will take the second test next Saturday to see if it comes up negative. In the meantime, given that I know I have it I won’t be running around spreading it. Yesterday the symptoms were mild, not so much last night. I didn’t get any sleep as it was difficult breathing with my stuffed up nostrils and my temperature fluctuated between 99 and 102. And yes, I had both Pfizer shots and the booster. So yes, I do agree that most of this testing hysteria is uncalled for but there are a few instances where it may be prudent.

Really
 

I would like to know where you get your numbers because they sound bogus.

Omicron can pack a real punch….doesn’t feel like a normal flu. You can end up in the hospital if you don’t have the added protection of the vaccines. With that said, a lot of testing is going to schools. Many require a negative test to start school, and if someone comes up positive during school everyone that had contact with them must get tested, then if they stay without systems test again for a negative result to return to school. If everyone was vaccinated so their systems were more mild, we wouldn’t have this problem. However, since 30% of the population refuses vaccines, they become heavy load carriers of the virus which then can infect others, especially children. I know someone that had omicron and said it took her 20 minutes just to get out of bed and she had to monitor her blood oxygen levels, especially at night and not let them go below 90. She said it was scary, and if someone had gotten it like her and didn’t have the added protection of the vaccines and booster, she thinks they definitely would have ended up in the hospital. She said she has never had any “flu” that hit her so hard like this.

That wasn't difficult to find....

From this source:

Approximately 6,300 people were hospitalized in Illinois with COVID-19 as of late Sunday, according to data from the Illinois Department of Health. Approximately 85% of those hospitalized because of COVID-19 are unvaccinated, while 95% of the approximately 1,100 people in intensive care are unvaccinated, Pritzker said.

$$$$$$$$$$

The reason to test: if the test is positive, one can take reasonable precautions not to infect others.

Media FEAR!!

Thank you for your post - sincerely.

A question: Since the test came back positive you won't be running around to spread it. What if the test had come back negative, would you have wandered out into public with a cold or flu? Perhaps a good approach for everyone is to not venture into public if you have symptoms of a cold, flu, or covid.

Your friend needs a new doctor.

A person must be pretty dedicated to wait in line for free test.
Many Companies require a weekly Covid test for unvaxed workers.
Foreign Travel including Cruises.
If testing positive it’s required to return to work and receive paid sick benefits.
If you remember upon the start of this Covid Pandemic in 2020 The Villages people were lining up for Covid testing for about 250 tests daily by appointment.
Well it’s Deja Vu 2 years later. Now we are in the Flu season along with Omicron and Covid Delta strain.

Honestly - probably. In my 73 years I've never had the flu. In realistic terms I never thought I had the flu. When I was sick I simply thought it was a cold, however, it could have been a flu. How many of us went to school with a cold? How many went to work? For most of us we never even thought about a cold or flu. Unless we were really sick life went on. It wasn't until Wuhan shared Covid with us did we ever consider wearing masks.

Because if you do have it, you might give it unknowingly to someone who is vulnerable to serious illness.

Everything is about money but that is the system we have now. Unless we change it, it will always be about money. You have a solution for this?

So, you go to CVS and take your test. Two days later, you receive your results and they indicate "Negative." Two days ago, after testing you go shopping at Publix and stop to chat with a friend you bumped into. That friend was infected. You receive your test results in the mail today indicating that you are "negative" for covid. That was two days ago. So, you brag to everyone that you tested "negative" so you can do whatever you wish, including going on a cruise. The cruise folks read your negative test results and allow you to board the ship, along with thousands of others that had their tests two days prior. Guess what?
In order to start working at a job they require a negative test. You received your test from two days prior testing and start work today. For the last two days, you stopped to chat with a neighbor that was walking her dog. You also went grocery shopping. You went out to dinner with some friends. You started work today after being tested two days ago. Guess what?
Testing negative is only good for the time you were tested, minutes before being in contact with anyone else that may be infected.
My opinion is that Covid testing is only good as a diagnostic for doctors to know what to treat, just like testing for the Flu or TB, etc.

Easy to say for you, but a family member who was vaccinated got it and ended up in the hospital for four days -- she has asthma which made her vulnerable. The whole point of vaccinations is as much about keeping yourself safe as saving the lives of others.

Spend spend spend.....we bought 144,000 ventilators with taxpayer funds and they're sitting in warehouses. Somebody is making a killing.

And don't forget that the CDC now says you can test positive for up to 12 weeks AFTER you had Covid. Even if you had an asymptomatic case...

agree!

covid testing?
 

Because without testing, those who have the antibodies WITHOUT SYMPTOMS wouldn't be counted, adding to the hype. It's long past time for this game to be over.

I have never been tested and I have no intention of ever being tested unless I have symptoms or am forced to test to get on a cruise, etc.

I don't believe in wasting resources that may be more needed by others.

The irony is that these people, who likely have no symptoms, are standing in long lines in the freezing cold right next to each other. Talk about a recipe for getting sick when they weren't originally sick. Just head shaking.

As WE surely realize people DEMAND something be done. People with the job title, need to do something. Is it justified? Is it cost effective? It is almost a non-asked question. A news interview. Imagine, I don't know what to do so I am doing nothing.
Sometime doing nothing is the right thing to do.

PERHAPS, but with covid we do not have any VALID baseline data. We read hear it is up two hundreds of a percent. IT MEANS NOTHING since we do not have accurate, VALID information on what it was.

"It is long time for this game to be over." I agree but it will not end. It has taken on a life of it's own. So many examples. The march of dimes was created to deal with POLIO. Polio was vaccinated out of existence in the US. March of dimes is still here.

Global warming. Am I the only one to notice it is now climate change? Climate has always been changing.

Pollution. You cannot end pollution. A volcanic eruption a forest fire due to lightening all cause pollution

No shortage of other examples.

Could this be analogous to sowing one's wild oats all week and then going to church on Sunday to pray for a crop failure?

That is, could it be that people are irresponsibly exposing themselves (and possibly indirectly exposing others) to Covid, thinking this is acceptable behavior since testing is available?

What happened to the 500 million at-home test kits Biden said they were sending out?

TV aside, employers, places of business and other venues, or in order participate in an event requires a negative test. And Omicrom is so much more contagious it's spreading like wildfire everywhere. Therefore it makes sense more people want or need to be tested.

covid test
 

I don't understand why anyone would want to be tested. Either you are sick or not, and I think I can tell the difference without a test.

Agree with one exception.

Omicron is a very different virus. No worse than a bad cold for most vaccinated.

As said before, those not are overwhelming hospitals in many locations.

The answer is so obvious. Those that won't test clearly don't care who they might infect. They're only thinking about themselves. The sad thing is that kids, many who have not been vaccinated yet, are the ones getting it and ending up in the hospital due to its severity.

But there are thousands of asymptomatic people in the long lines to get tested. To those that think it is so wonderful to get tested for no reason, consider this: Every year 35-70,000 Americans die from influenza (but apparently no longer now that we can blame COVID). Has anyone, EVER gone and get tested for flu if they had no symptoms???? Did thousands of asymptomatic people go wait in line to get tested for flu???? Did government offices and cruise ships require masks PLUS proof of flu vaccination to enter????? The scale may be a bit larger (how much larger is hard to say since EVERY sniffle is being reported as COVID), but the principle is the same.

So......are you suggesting that every person test twice a day, EVERY DAY or be considered "selfish"????

I didn't read all the posts, but the workforce and the employers require them for both not working sick days and back to work, as well as air transportation, and hospital procedures. Employers won't accept rapid tests for a reason not to come to work. . . PCR test result different issue. . .

So yes, there are many reasons why people have to get PCR tests. How do I know? I ask a positive working person when he had to get PCR tests, and his answer was above. . . he wanted to use the rapid test results but that wasn't acceptable.

An answer i would not expect retirees to be familiar with. . .

NOT TRUE!!!!
Totally emotional/biased off the mark assertion!

Read post #11 in this thread. Even us retired folks read the news and keep up with current events.

Sorry, but this is simply not true.

Despite what the headlines say, in reality, yes, they are seeing more kids in the hospital with positive covid tests. BUT... They are not being admitted for covid. They are being admitted for the normal kid things, and since they test EVERYONE admitted, they are seeing more incidental positive tests.

So, more kids are being admitted WITH an incidental positive covid test, NOT due to covid...

I have no idea as to why there is so much demand. I am very happy(for myself) that I am not doing anything(such as taking a cruise which requires a test. Hoping this calms down soon.

Saw one news cast that said there were vaccinations at same site and short lines.

Go figure!

and then you realized Parse, that it was the other way around. Latest data out of Ontario, Canada shows over 70% of those in hospitals are vaxxed. Unfortunately, we don't keep those stats (we can see why now). SOURCE: COVID-19 vaccinations data | COVID-19 (coronavirus) in Ontario