This morning.
Via Irish Times:
Barely half of the positive results from antigen tests carried out on close contacts of Covid-19 cases have been confirmed by further PCR testing.
An average of almost 4,000 antigen tests have been carried out on close contacts who are fully vaccinated and have no symptoms since the measure was introduced at the end of October.
In the first month, 31,850 antigen test results were reported by close contacts – 21,579 “not detected” or negative results, and 10,271 “detected” or positive, according to data presented at a National Public Health Emergency Team (Nphet) meeting this month.
0Just 5,741, or 54 per cent, of these positive antigen test results were confirmed positive with subsequent PCR testing.
Anyone?
Barely half of positive antigen test results confirmed by PCR testing (RTE)
Or to put that another way; Antigen testing managed to detect 10,271 cases of Covid. RTE hang your head. New low.
This is very ambiguous.
10,271 antigen “detected” or positive
5,741, (54 %) of these positive antigen test results were confirmed positive with subsequent PCR testing.
What happened the other 4,530? Was it that
– all 10,271 antigen went to PCR and of these 4,530 came back negative?
– of the 10,271 antigen tests 4,530 didn’t bother to get get PCR tested?
– something in between 1 and 4,530 people got negative PCR tests.
What happened to the ‘inconclusives’ a la Eamonn Ryan??
Torture the numbers and they will admit to anything.
False positives
“An average of almost 4,000 antigen tests have been carried out on close contacts who are fully vaccinated and have no symptoms since the measure was introduced at the end of October.”
Of what relevance is someone’s vaccination status when accessing the accuracy of a test?
The writer of the article attends a NPHET meeting and tries to give an account of it. If the lack of coherence is anything to go by it’s not a good reflection on NPHET.
Snippets of useless statistics.
Stuff that sounds a bit confusing or contradictory:
eg ‘Demand for testing is higher than it has been at any point in the pandemic and continues to increase…
..Meanwhile, only about half of people with symptoms are going for a PCR test or self-isolating as recommended, according to polling conducted.
This was the only bit that stuck out for me:
‘For the first time since January, more people think the worst of the pandemic is ahead of us rather than behind us, according to the research.
Citizens are having difficulty understanding “where Ireland is on its pandemic journey”, the polling also indicated. ‘
– ie -citizens have been left bewildered and downtrodden by the authorities’ monomaniacal obsession with Covid, the incoherent messaging, the continued failed approach which lacks an exit strategy, etc
And this sounds ominous:
‘Members decided the biggest contribution to controlled, safe trading was in “re-imagining enforcement” ‘
Lol, thinks there are ‘exit strategies’for pandemics and accuses other of incoherence.
Not that there isn’t plenty to criticise about government responses – though I suspect there’s a difference between criticising their responses and criticisng that they responded at all – but:
‘citizens have been left bewildered and downtrodden by… Covid.’
FIFY.
@f_lawless It’s meant to be confusing and bewildering, it weakens people’s mental resolve.
In China and former Soviet bloc countries, people knew that state news was nonsense. Here, people still cling to the ‘news’ hoping to be informed. Instead, they’re being fed propaganda.
WTF? Half? Is ALDI giving the money back? We have rights as consumers you know.