Covid 19 Part XXX-113,332 ROI(2,282 deaths) 81,251 NI (1,384 deaths) (05/01) Read OP

xhomelezz

Gael23 wrote: »

Why not just post a few stool sample kits to every house

Why?

You don't need poop sample kits. You test sewage if you know where it's coming from.

Renjit

SuperRabbit wrote: »

If level 3 with inter-county travel actually worked it would be a level of restriction I could totally live with

I bet level 2 and level 1 are lovely, remember them? I've never even seen them... or level 4!

These levels wouldn't be required if people were a bit cautious in first place and understood social responsibility. Two ladies in the clinic where my spouse works straight up commented that covid is a state of mind :pac:

And that's with 1 clinic assistant and a doctor who tested positive recently. There were no positive cases earlier since jan 2020.

Martina1991

normanoffside wrote: »

The pilot programme may have had poor performance but only compared to PCR tests which show up dead virus. Antigen tests test for infectiousness (rather than dead virus and past infection) which is perhaps more important?

Hospitals are perhaps ideal locations for their use as they have well trained staff able to take swabs Taking the swab professionally is important to improving their efficacy.

I have real world experience of Antigen tests and in my experience have very positive experience.

Since you are asking for an Example of why a school would be offered them:

We were organising a residential programme for stranded international students (unable to travel home for Holidays due to travel restrictions) over Xmas.
We had a company come and do an Antigen test on everyone before entering (not required but we felt it would be good to be safe and PCR would be too slow in this circumstance).

One of the staff members came up not only positive but highly infectious. Only symptom at the time was a cold-sore. The staff member was sent home and rang their GP for PCR test (which came back positive but several days later) and developed other symptoms a few days later.

That antigen test potentially prevented a super spreader event.
I'm not understanding the resistance to their use as nobody is proposing them instead of PCR, just an addition to them.

The number of cases with 'dead virus' is so statistically insignificant, it is not a reason for sacrificing accuracy.

It was a good thing that member of staff was identified and isolated. But I also have other queries about it.
What was the company that offered the test.
Are they accredited.
Did they provide proof or certification of performance.
Who performed the swabs and test.
Who read the results, was it a healthcare professional or someone from the company.
Were the devices and swabs stored and handled appropriately i.e. were they refrigerated before use and kept at the right temperature, not left out or exposed to contamination, read within the appropriate time frame (not read too late or too early)

I just dont think any hospital is going to add to their Covid deficit budgets to buy thousands of daily antigen tests when the vaccine is already here.

normanoffside

Martina1991 wrote: »

The number of cases with 'dead virus' is so statistically insignificant, it is not a reason for sacrificing accuracy.

It was a good thing that member of staff was identified and isolated. But I also have other queries about it.
What was the company that offered the test.
Are they accredited.
Did they provide proof or certification of performance.
Who performed the swabs and test.
Who read the results, was it a healthcare professional or someone from the company.
Were the devices and swabs stored and handled appropriately i.e. were they refrigerated before use and kept at the right temperature, not left out or exposed to contamination, read within the appropriate time frame (not read too late or too early)

I just dont think any hospital is going to add to their Covid deficit budgets to buy thousands of daily antigen tests when the vaccine is already here.

Hi Martina,
With respect I am not going to divulge that information publicly but suffice to say yes to all the accreditations etc.
We were careful to be getting these kinds of things done by professionals which is why we passed up on €4:50 do it yourself tests.
Hospitals however are full of trained professionals who could use such kits correctly (that's my point).
Feel free to PM if you want more info.

Wombatman

How is the auld R number looking?

Martina1991

Joeytheparrot wrote: »

I dont think the meat plants and dp centres were getting regular testing.

They are. Same as nursing homes.
" Serial testing is offered as a precaution to people in certain settings where infection is more likely to occur. For example, certain workplaces (such as meat factories) or facilities (such as residential care facilities, Direct Provision centres)."
https://www2.hse.ie/conditions/coronavirus/testing/how-to-get-tested.html

Stheno

Wombatman wrote: »

How is the auld R number looking?

Off the charts

Away With The Fairies

Wombatman wrote: »

How is the auld R number looking?

Probably can't be measured

Danzy

bb1234567 wrote: »

2% at this very moment! WTF!
https://twitter.com/CNN/status/1346542015278948354

Near enough to that at the moment here, or close to it Another few days.

tiger_cub

I’m so fed up with the lack of strong leadership everywhere - the wife of our local TD, not the brightest bulb generally, is flat out posting all her daily winter walks on her Instagram at various different parks all well outside the 5km. I don’t really agree with the 5km restriction myself but if my husband was an elected official I’d at least pretended to abide by it.

Also went for a walk at lunch myself and the local doctor was out walking with another two families, all eight or so kids holding hands with each other and parents walking right along side each other.

Martina1991

SuperRabbit wrote: »

My understanding is that the antigen test is fantastic for groups and populations but completely useless for an individual because the margin for error is so wide?

They are not appropriate for mass testing.

They are best used in clinical situations where a patient has to be triaged or treated urgently and waiting for a pcr result may effect patient care or pcr testing isn't available.

These tests require the patient to have a high viral load at the time of the test to likely be detected.

BobbyMalone

landofthetree wrote: »

Professor Chris Whitty: Corona restrictions may be needed next winter.

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.telegraph.co.uk/global-health/science-and-disease/coronavirus-news-uk-new-national-lockdown-covid-vaccine/amp/


Told you all it will be 2023 at the earliest before a return to normal.

Interesting that the professor says 'may' whereas you say 'will'.



Neither of you know what's coming in 2023. It's guesswork at this stage.

Marty Bird

Joeytheparrot wrote: »

Ah this is worse than a normal winter

I don’t know about that you ask anyone the figures for each day last winter for ICU/Hospitalised they couldn’t tell you. Everyone knows now with daily updates

Parachutes

BobbyMalone wrote: »

Interesting that the professor says 'may' whereas you say 'will'.



Neither of you know what's coming in 2023. It's guesswork at this stage.

It's 2023. We're in level 10 of lockdowns and you're now confined to your pod and eat cockroach bars for dinner.

Probes

bb1234567 wrote: »

2% at this very moment! WTF!
https://twitter.com/CNN/status/1346542015278948354

It's 1 in 30 in London.

BobbyMalone

landofthetree wrote: »

Professor Chris Whitty: Corona restrictions may be needed next winter.

Interestingly, the same Chris Whitty who predicted in March that the UK would be at its peak re the virus in June.



I wouldn't be relying on him with regards to solid predictions.

lawrencesummers

BobbyMalone wrote: »

Interesting that the professor says 'may' whereas you say 'will'.



Neither of you know what's coming in 2023. It's guesswork at this stage.

We should all just deal with January first.

MerlinSouthDub

Probes wrote: »

It's 1 in 30 in London.

Shocking.

The Novavax UK phase 3 vaccine trial will read out soon at this rate!

landofthetree

BobbyMalone wrote: »

Interesting that the professor says 'may' whereas you say 'will'.



Neither of you know what's coming in 2023. It's guesswork at this stage.

Governments,WHO,experts etc are afraid to tell it like it is.

This isnt going away. The media told us all a rushed vaccine was dangerous when Trump said it was possible. Now a lot of people wont take it.

BringBackMick

Is there anything be said for only vacinnating people who havent been positive for the virus?

Those who had disease likely have some immunity an prob account for 30% of population

landofthetree

BobbyMalone wrote: »

Interestingly, the same Chris Whitty who predicted in March that the UK would be at its peak re the virus in June.



I wouldn't be relying on him with regards to solid predictions.

Yep. He has always been optimistic which is why I think its 2023.

BobbyMalone

landofthetree wrote: »

Governments,WHO,experts etc are afraid to tell it like it is.

Just you and Chris Whitty, eh? He's made predictions in the past and been far, far off the mark. This would be fine if he was just some randomer on the internet making wild accusations, but he's actually somebody with some degree of power, and one who has failed abysmally.

landofthetree wrote: »

Yep. He has always been optimistic which is why I think its 2023.

Nope, just somebody who doesn't have a clue.

Gruffalux

BringBackMick wrote: »

Is there anything be said for only vacinnating people who havent been positive for the virus?

Those who had disease likely have some immunity an prob account for 30% of population

I'd say 8 to 10% at most have had it. That would be 450,000 people around. At most, I reckon. People kind of forget that all this upheaval has happened and still more than 90% of us have never had Covid.

Spanish Eyes

Back I go to my cave and well stocked cellar for the foreseeable so.

All we need now is a massive snowfall to keep people at home.

Hopefully this too shall pass, but EMA seem to be quite slow in approving and distributing vaccines. Brexiteers 1 EU 0

Danzy

It'll be all over by 2023, one way or another.

Between vaccinated and those who have had it, there will be herd immunity this year.

Some poor bugger might get it in 2022 but that's like being shot on the last day of ww2, ironically one of them was an Irish man.

normanoffside

Martina1991 wrote: »

These tests require the patient to have a high viral load at the time of the test to likely be detected.

Is it not a good thing to be picking up people with high viral loads who would not otherwise be tested?

Stheno

Finally

https://m.independent.ie/irish-news/all-travellers-flying-into-ireland-will-be-required-to-produce-a-negative-covid-19-test-on-arrival-39936181.html

All travellers flying into Ireland will soon be required to produce a negative Covid-19 test on arrival.

The new rules will require anyone flying into Ireland to produce a negative PCR test result received within three days before arrival.

bb1234567

BringBackMick wrote: »

Is there anything be said for only vacinnating people who havent been positive for the virus?

Those who had disease likely have some immunity an prob account for 30% of population

30% ? Even 30% of healthcare workers nationally having been infected would probably be on over egged estimated, never mind the general population

klose

Are people panic buying again or is there a stock issue with brexit or covid? Local tesco is wiped out.

bb1234567

Gruffalux wrote: »

I'd say 8 to 10% at most have had it. That would be 450,000 people around. At most, I reckon. People kind of forget that all this upheaval has happened and still more than 90% of us have never had Covid.

Peru has the highest excess deaths on earth(over 100,000 in a country of 33 million) with a really young population and only 30-40% of the population are thought to have been infected.

If anyone thinks 30% of irish people had it with 2,000 deaths they're codding themselvesss