Covid-19: Lateral flow tests miss over half of cases, Liverpool pilot data show

Covid-19: People are not being warned about pitfalls of mass testing

“…Studies have shown that, while false positives are rare with the commonly used Innova lateral flow test, false negatives are much more common 3. Results from Public Health England showed that the test’s overall sensitivity was 76.8%, meaning that 23.2% were false negatives.…”

Covid-19: Tests on students are highly inaccurate, early findings show

“…A preprint published on the Department of Health and Social Care website on 11 December by the University of Liverpool analysed test accuracy data from a two week trial in the city, concluding that the Innova test had a sensitivity of 48.89% 5. This led to the Liverpool Health Protection Board pausing its plans to use the Innova tests to allow visitors access to care homes, although it later resumed confirmatory PCR testing.…”

Health Care Professionals' Confidence and Preferences for Diagnostic Assays for SARS-CoV-2: A Global Study

“…Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) testing remains the gold standard method of case definition (2); the sensitivity of PCR tests depends on the type of body fluid analyzed (7) and time from symptom onset (8,9). Rapid antigen tests have been deployed in asymptomatic screening programmes in an attempt to interrupt viral transmission (10,11). These tests appear less sensitive that PCR but may be helpful in detecting individuals with relatively high-viral loads (PCR cycle thresholds <30) and guiding selfisolation policy (12,13).…”