3 ms·

hmmm is this a new variant? or have they got bad testing processes outside of hospitals? So many things this might be...

sokoloff 5y ago
The main point of the article (at least as I understood it) is that I could be hospitalized for an open fracture in my leg, tested for COVID while there, test comes back positive (either true or false positive) and be counted as a "hospitalized COVID case".
- senectus1 5y ago
  but couldn't this also mean? : false positives new variant that infects but doesn't overtly affect or maybe a larger number of asymptomatic types than originally thought.
- bananapub 5y ago
  what suggests to you that there is any notable number of false positives?
  - sokoloff 5y ago
    Primarily that "all lab tests have errors" and if you test everyone who is hospitalized for any reason (which is sensible), you're inevitably going to get some false positives. Secondarily, in any low-incidence scenario (such as might be the case for "COVID infections among the vaccinated"), even high specificity tests have a high false rate among positive tests.
    - a9h74j 5y ago
      Not an epidemiologist, but prior to Covid I have never seen a professional risk-benefit discussion around screening tests, which did not give serious weight to the various costs of false positives. Patient anxiety. Rounds of invasive biopsies not without risk. Financial costs of the same.
      - sokoloff 5y ago
        I agree (and declined a particular medical screening test [with the advice and consent of my doctor] at my most recent physical because the overall outcomes are worse for testing than not). I think this one as applied to COVID is some mix of fear and human logical frailty. I can only imagine the hue and cries that we'd get if "Hospital XYZ isn't even testing all their patients for COVID!" came to light. That could be used to feed into the "COVID is a hoax!", "Insurance companies are evil; we need single-payer so that costs don't become an obstacle", and many other narratives.
kalleboo 5y ago
The vaccine is rendering infected people asymptomatic. So they never think to get tested because they don't feel sick. Then they break their leg, go to hospital, get tested as a matter of course, and now get counted as someone hospitalized with COVID. Or they feel vaguely sick, it feels like a flu (due to delta having more cold-like rather than covid-like symptoms) and go to the hospital without getting tested for COVID first, and then get tested in the hospital. We don't know, the data doesn't say.
- senectus1 5y ago
  >The vaccine is rendering infected people asymptomatic. woo didn't think of that. that would be not so great if still infectious.

sokoloff 5y ago

The main point of the article (at least as I understood it) is that I could be hospitalized for an open fracture in my leg, tested for COVID while there, test comes back positive (either true or false positive) and be counted as a "hospitalized COVID case".

senectus1 5y ago
but couldn't this also mean? : false positives new variant that infects but doesn't overtly affect or maybe a larger number of asymptomatic types than originally thought.
bananapub 5y ago
what suggests to you that there is any notable number of false positives?
- sokoloff 5y ago
  Primarily that "all lab tests have errors" and if you test everyone who is hospitalized for any reason (which is sensible), you're inevitably going to get some false positives. Secondarily, in any low-incidence scenario (such as might be the case for "COVID infections among the vaccinated"), even high specificity tests have a high false rate among positive tests.
  - a9h74j 5y ago
    Not an epidemiologist, but prior to Covid I have never seen a professional risk-benefit discussion around screening tests, which did not give serious weight to the various costs of false positives. Patient anxiety. Rounds of invasive biopsies not without risk. Financial costs of the same.
    - sokoloff 5y ago
      I agree (and declined a particular medical screening test [with the advice and consent of my doctor] at my most recent physical because the overall outcomes are worse for testing than not). I think this one as applied to COVID is some mix of fear and human logical frailty. I can only imagine the hue and cries that we'd get if "Hospital XYZ isn't even testing all their patients for COVID!" came to light. That could be used to feed into the "COVID is a hoax!", "Insurance companies are evil; we need single-payer so that costs don't become an obstacle", and many other narratives.

kalleboo 5y ago

The vaccine is rendering infected people asymptomatic. So they never think to get tested because they don't feel sick. Then they break their leg, go to hospital, get tested as a matter of course, and now get counted as someone hospitalized with COVID. Or they feel vaguely sick, it feels like a flu (due to delta having more cold-like rather than covid-like symptoms) and go to the hospital without getting tested for COVID first, and then get tested in the hospital. We don't know, the data doesn't say.

senectus1 5y ago
>The vaccine is rendering infected people asymptomatic. woo didn't think of that. that would be not so great if still infectious.