why are we listening to these creatures
why are we listening to these creatures
yes, some antibody tests aren’t very accurate for a number of reasons and the buyer should certainly be aware.
but actually, we have blood antibody tests for many infectious diseases (covid19 appears to be one of these at, least for some tests on the market) that are very good and can be relied on as useful data for epidemic decision making purposes. especially if confirmatory tests exist for the same person.
it depends on the skill and experience of the reference lab handling the validation of the test, the training of the med tech getting the sample, the skills and experience of the lab people running the test, and the quality of the private vendor’s design and development of the kits and machine for the highest possible accuracy (sensitivity and specificity).
after that, of course, the quality and honesty of the statistical study using even an accurate test becomes the most important factor for application to health policy. unfortunately, that part of it is usually in the hands of so called “experts.”
I predicted this was going to be the new mantra as soon as I read about the antibody study in Santa Clara and LA counties over a month ago. It showed the number of infected to be very high and that didn’t fit the narrative of the left, so antibody testing has been SQUASHED!
Yawn.
Tomorrow, it will be recommended as “better than nothing”.
The problem with the SARS-CoV-2 antibody tests is they were developed and released with close to no oversight whatsoever. It was an overreaction to their failure on the initial COVID-19 tests, where they didn’t let anyone build working test kits and the CDC test kits were delayed and broken. So when it came time to develop antibody testing, the CDC basically told everyone to do whatever they wanted and so everyone and their brother threw together a “test”.
There’s something like 60 different antibody tests out there. The worst of those is wrong up to half the time. Most aren’t that bad, but without any oversight or independent testing, it’s a complete mess trying to figure out how good a particular test is.
This is a story about the CDC bungling two different kinds of tests in two different ways. It has nothing to do with any inherent problem with antibody testing.
The vaccine might be available by November.
Oh, that settles it.
Mail-in ballots only!
#%$%&*(&^*(*
Says the CDC, who couldn’t develop a test for months and prevented anyone else from developing one.
Oh, Good Grief...
Is there anything reliable coming from these Ass hats?
Here is a brief explanation of the building blocks one needs to calculate the “positive predictive value” (PPV) of an antibody test. The PPV gives the probability that you have antibodies to COVID-19, given that you tested positive for them. The formula is just an application of Bayes’ Law, which some of you may remember from a college stat class.
CDC studies gun control? Really?
https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/pressroom/sosmap/firearm_mortality/firearm.htm
CDC is fighting racism and fat people!
https://www.frontpagemag.com/fpm/2020/03/cdc-was-fighting-racism-and-obesity-instead-daniel-greenfield/
The Budget: Looks like pandemics and testing are not in the CDC’s wheelhouse.
https://www.cdc.gov/chronicdisease/programs-impact/budget/index.htm
Talk about projection.
Because they’re showing a high incidence, which means a low death rate, and that doesn’t fit the narrative.