Covid 19 saliva test question
 

If this test is a good test, why is this not MAILED to Americans, problem solved, healthcare workers removed from danger, tests done quickly, easy test to complete. There has to be a reason it's not happening.

Too many tests might result in the dilution of the fear factor.

I read an article about this test today. They FedEx the test to you. You swab you’re own nose. Then you FedEx the sample back to them. Cost is $119. Results emailed to you.

Take this a step further. Ramp production up to 327 million tests (I think we'd be eligible for a volume discount). Send the tests to every American, free of charge, on the same day. Every Covid positive person self-isolates, boom, three weeks later the virus is eradicated. This is sort of the idea behind Tom Romer's plan (Nobel laureate in Economics). Test the virus out of existence.

It's a faulty plan.

One test goes out to everyone. Everyone tests on the same day. Except those people who don't need to take no stankin test. And those people who forgot. And those people who didn't get the fedex yet. And those people who weren't home that week.

But everyone ELSE takes it - and sends it back. The very next day, before the tests are even out of the Fedex envelope at the lab, 50 people who were negative the day before, now test positive.

The test comes back negative. So they don't self-isolate, and then pass it to another 100 people.

And the beat goes on.

From what I have read, the swab has to go WAY BACK ... like several inches ... into your nose. Most people would not self-perform the test properly and the results would be worthless.

k.

Hmmm. There is the problem $119, most folks can't buy food, so how can they pay for test, but I thought there was a test, you spit in cup.

When the article below came out, on April 14, the saliva test had only been tested—by the company that developed it—on 60 people! That company hired a testing company to try it on 10 more people to see if it could confirm that the test worked. That is NOT enough for a clinical trial, and its accuracy has not been certified by testing agencies. For example, how accurate is the test? What is the percentage of false positives and false negatives? (There was an article in the New York Times last weekend about a group of virus researchers in California that tested, I think, 29 of the virus antibody tests flooding the market (there are many more now) and found only ONE that didn’t have lots of false readings. Ten percent false positives was common, and 5% false negatives.) (That study was done on multiple specimens of the blood of about 600 people already diagnosed as having the virus. It tested accuracy and sensitivity of what is on the market now.)

There is a big difference between a drug company making a few thousand swabs and making 330 million swabs, at once, all to be delivered on the same day. It takes time to even develop the packaging and the directions. It would be very difficult for, say, UPS to deliver that many packages to every house in the country in one day. It would be even harder to pick them up. A lot of people have to drive a half hour to a UPS pickup spot, whether in car or golf-cart.

Would this test be processed by the drug company that invented the test or by private labs around the country? Whichever, the processing will require several hundred thousand expensive machines that have to be built, certified, shipped around the country, tested. All before the first swab is sent for processing. And what happens to those machines once the rush is past? Will they see occasional use for the next few years?

I agree that your idea is a good one. It just isn’t feasible yet, and it may never be. Just think of all the trouble the government has trying to get everyone to fill out the 2020 census. Would everyone willingly give up their DNA for testing? What if they don’t have email? What if they are homeless, or illegals?

If the virus could be detected with a simple test that has been around for decades, like the TB tests, it would be so much easier. But I’m not sure this virus could have been easily tested for even a few years ago. Lab testing is getting better and better, fast, but some things take time.

First Saliva Test for COVID-19 Approved for Emergency Use by FDA | The Scientist Magazine(R)

Monkey wrench: too many will not self-quarantine.

I've seen on many news channels that people are starting to go back outside in large groups. Playing in parks, beaches and other public places. It's like herding cats. You'l never get everyone to work together to defeat this virus, it's here to stay. The experts are saying China most likely lied about their numbers and it's 85 times higher than they reported. It light of all of this it seems the best thing to do is protect yourself as best you can.

I'm not a doctor or an expert and I don't guarantee any information I've given as 100% accurate.

Thanks for your reply, I googled but no answer, yours seems very logical.

No that simple. The reason, a lot of people will not follow the directions provided. Following correct protocols are the required basis for accurate diagnostic tests

Bear in mind, once tested, you are only guaranteed free of infection until you interact with the next person in your day who may give it to you.

Say what...?
 

The OP posts about a saliva test, and right away people are concerned about how far they will have to shove a swab up their nose. I think I know why self testing won't work.:ohdear:

Good question and Jebartel provided a great response.

In case of interest, this video shows the steps required to process the sample using a fully automated system from BioFire illustrating the complexity of the test.

The BioFire® FilmArray® System - How It Works - YouTube