2 ms·

> Even medical facilities keep pushing COVID testing even though it doesn't change the diagnosis, treatment, or outcome (X) Doubt If you're not very sick then

> Even medical facilities keep pushing COVID testing even though it doesn't change the diagnosis, treatment, or outcome (X) Doubt If you're not very sick then sure the treatment isn't going to change much (just fight it off with OTC drugs). But if you actually need any sort of intervention (rare) they'll give you different drugs than say an Ebola infection. > If your not sick (or sick but not contagious), then you do you. Unclear how you know if you're not contagious if you don't actually know what you're sick with.

staringback 4y ago
When I was in NYC a few weeks ago I noticed a plethora of "COVID testing" tents around Manhattan, never did I see anyone actually getting a test there. I can't help but think the employees sitting around and the operators of the testing huts are leeching off government funds in the name of "public health and safety"
- chiefalchemist 4y ago
  It's all for show. Uncle Sam committed monies to the states and the states to the local municipalities. No politician wants to say "We don't need this" and then have people laid off. No politician wants to say "Give us that money back." This isn't unique to Covid and Covid testing. It's simply much easier to see.
Throwawayaerlei 4y ago
You are correct. COVID is different from other respiratory illness I'm aware of (not a doctor) in that when it gets serious that way it interferes with oxygen intake but not getting rid of CO2. Which drives the breathing reflex so you can get "happy hypoxia," where oxygen blood levels get dangerously, perhaps lethally low and the patient doesn't realize it, especially since hypoxia is insidious. Another difference perhaps is that the SOP treatment, US, U.K., don't know where else is to give anyone bad off enough to require supplemental oxygen a steroid to suppress the innate immune system.
ThunderSizzle 4y ago
> If you're not very sick then sure the treatment isn't going to change much. But if you actually need any sort of intervention (rare) they'll give you different drugs than say an Ebola infection. That's literally what I just said - medical facilities keep pushing COVID testing even though in 99% of cases, it's not going to be used to modify the diagnosis or treatment. As you said, the other ~1% or less of cases that might make a assist or alter a decision based on information provided by the test is rare, and nor did I say that in that scenario that it shouldn't be done. > Unclear how you know if you're not contagious if you don't actually know what you're sick with. There's more than just COVID testing, and some tests can reveal an infection that isn't contagious. For example, many bacterial infections are no longer considered contagious after ~24 hours of antibiotic use [1]. A positive on a bacterial infection can give enough confidence on the risk of being contagious. However, with a negative COVID test, you could (1) still have COVID, or (2) have another infection that is contagious. Doctors can't assume you have strep throat or a sinus infection from a negative COVID test, but doctors can make a diagnosis based on a positive strep test that you don't have something else based on your symptoms. [1] https://www.nhs.uk/common-health-questions/infections/how-long-will-i-be-infectious-after-starting-antibiotics/ https://www.nhs.uk/common-health-questions/infections/how-lo...

staringback 4y ago

When I was in NYC a few weeks ago I noticed a plethora of "COVID testing" tents around Manhattan, never did I see anyone actually getting a test there. I can't help but think the employees sitting around and the operators of the testing huts are leeching off government funds in the name of "public health and safety"

chiefalchemist 4y ago
It's all for show. Uncle Sam committed monies to the states and the states to the local municipalities. No politician wants to say "We don't need this" and then have people laid off. No politician wants to say "Give us that money back." This isn't unique to Covid and Covid testing. It's simply much easier to see.

Throwawayaerlei 4y ago

You are correct. COVID is different from other respiratory illness I'm aware of (not a doctor) in that when it gets serious that way it interferes with oxygen intake but not getting rid of CO2. Which drives the breathing reflex so you can get "happy hypoxia," where oxygen blood levels get dangerously, perhaps lethally low and the patient doesn't realize it, especially since hypoxia is insidious. Another difference perhaps is that the SOP treatment, US, U.K., don't know where else is to give anyone bad off enough to require supplemental oxygen a steroid to suppress the innate immune system.

ThunderSizzle 4y ago

> If you're not very sick then sure the treatment isn't going to change much. But if you actually need any sort of intervention (rare) they'll give you different drugs than say an Ebola infection. That's literally what I just said - medical facilities keep pushing COVID testing even though in 99% of cases, it's not going to be used to modify the diagnosis or treatment. As you said, the other ~1% or less of cases that might make a assist or alter a decision based on information provided by the test is rare, and nor did I say that in that scenario that it shouldn't be done. > Unclear how you know if you're not contagious if you don't actually know what you're sick with. There's more than just COVID testing, and some tests can reveal an infection that isn't contagious. For example, many bacterial infections are no longer considered contagious after ~24 hours of antibiotic use [1]. A positive on a bacterial infection can give enough confidence on the risk of being contagious. However, with a negative COVID test, you could (1) still have COVID, or (2) have another infection that is contagious. Doctors can't assume you have strep throat or a sinus infection from a negative COVID test, but doctors can make a diagnosis based on a positive strep test that you don't have something else based on your symptoms. [1] https://www.nhs.uk/common-health-questions/infections/how-long-will-i-be-infectious-after-starting-antibiotics/ https://www.nhs.uk/common-health-questions/infections/how-lo...