#Microblog Monday 373: Testing
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I have been in a drugstore twice in the last few weeks, and in both cases, there was a stack of Binax at-home tests on display. Both times we considered getting them, and both times we left them there — once watching the display get cannibalized as we waited to pay for our items. It made me anxious not to get them.
Except that I couldn’t think of a good reason to get them. Even if we tested negative, we would still do everything the same, including never taking off our masks indoors or in crowds. I also knew that if we felt ill, we would want a PCR — not an at-home test. Plus, there was a decent chance that an at-home test would give a false negative (especially with omicron), providing no helpful information at all. It was better to leave the tests and invest the money in KN95s.
But it is HARD to walk away from tests, especially when you know they’re hard to find and you can’t double back to the store and pick them up if you change your mind.
Sentences I never predicted I would write back at the start of the pandemic.
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11 comments
I did the same thing a while back, left the tests. And then over the holidays needed one when we couldn’t find any testing appointments, so I ordered some online. So far we’ve had the Flu type A (the H1N1 strain mutated after the vaccines were made) a stomach bug, and cold in our house, but no Covid (so far). My department has 8 people out right now with it, so having the tests helps with so many germs around me. I only used one test so far, but it’s not a fun test to do, so it’s there in case we need it.
The provincial government here FINALLY began giving out boxes of free rapid tests here (after hoarding them for eons &/or giving them out to their corporate buddies/donors and private schools). Of course we don’t have kids in school (who finally received some just before the Christmas break), and we were away when they started handing them out at some retail locations (the lineups were crazy-ridiculous and they went like hotcakes). Back in November, Turia gave me the link to a website where I could buy some, and I got a box of 5 on a CyberMonday special. Now I’m wishing I’d bought more… they are sold out/backordered now, of course, and even at CyberMonday prices, they were not cheap ($50 Canadian for a box of 5). I sent the box over to BIL’s this morning so that SIL could take a test (it was negative). They have imposed restrictions on who can get a free PCR test, and even if you qualify, all the testing sites are totally swamped right now. They are $180 (Canadian) at private testing sites. It’s ridiculous and discouraging. 🙁
Over the holidays a friend of mine got sick. I wasn’t sick but got a PCR test anyway. Turns out I had COVID and was asymptomatic.
The at-home test taken 8 days after my exposure came out negative. I’m definitely not spending money on them anymore.
I feel the same way leaving tests as I did leaving Clorox wipes or hand sanitizer a year or so ago. Even though I know I don’t need them, what if?? I still leave them, just as I did with wipes and sanitizer when I had plenty. But it’s that unicorn sighting and it creates a sense of urgency.
So we have a stockpile of tests because our school managed to keep an asymptomatic testing program going even after our idiot premier shut them all down. Last week I thought I had omicron but didn’t want to stand in line with people who definitely had omicron to get a PCR. I used rapid tests (swabbing throat and nose) for a few days in a row until I could be confident it wasn’t that (I would have had to catch it through an N95 mask so it was mostly anxiety).
Now they’ve restricted access to PCR testing and are telling people to use rapid tests and I feel like our little stockpile is pure gold. We also bought another 15 but they won’t even be in stock until later this month.
The kids have had several exposures this year and the rapid tests offer a lot of peace of mind while you wait for the PCR…and now we can’t even get a PCR!
It’s utterly insane what’s happening up here.
I honestly haven’t considered buying any home tests. Our children’s school district offers free testing to students and parents Monday through Friday, and if we’ve needed a test, we’ve gone that route. (Fortunately, all tests this school year have been negative.)
I also bought a few rapid tests and my office provided some for us to use if we wanted to before going back to work after the holiday season.
I had a scare because I had a contact with a positive case last week, but since you have to wait 5 days to be tested, I could only be tested today.
And here in Portugal you can have your rapid test done for free at the pharmacy ( you are entitled to 4 a month).
So I decided to get tested at the pharmacy, because at least I know they will do the test correctly.
If I did it myself I would always wonder if I had it done properly if it came back negative.
Aiyiyiyi, tests. We have either 3 or 5 OTC tests (I’m not sure if we have 1 or 2 unopened boxes) for our household of 3, which seems like it’s probably “enough,” but certainly didn’t feel that way when we had family staying over the holidays (and yes they had been tested and no, nothing happened — but still). We all got PCRs 48 hours before convening with additional family at Christmas, but didn’t get the results back in time for them to be useful — we were lucky, the weather was nice and we convened outside. The PCRs, when eventually received, were negative. One family member who used a rapid test rather than a PCR was positive (though asymptomatic) so didn’t come.
PCRs seem to be taking ~72 hours to get results back here at present, so though they’re available they’re not that useful. My employer offers them to employees (but not employee family members) and is (I’m told) much faster, but as I’m presently working remotely I’m not taking advantage of those.
I struggle with the rapid tests, because of the low accuracy rate. I felt like over the holiday they gave a lot of people a false sense of security. My school district has a PCR clinic a couple days per week, I might be able to access that if I need to. I’d definitely rather spend money on the KN95s. All this testing stuff brings me back to pee sticks, except these are brain sticks. Sigh
Rapid tests are just coming in here – even though we have COVID in the community now in NZ, it is not yet wide spread (though it will be when Omicron arrives), so it’s not something I’ve had to worry about. I guess I’d feel better if I had a supply – it’s the “Be Prepared” motto of Girl Guides AND my mother that influences me – but would worry about the accuracy.
I passed up a display at Target in December, and have second-guessed that decision many times. But I learned today from a coworker that our employer can provide rapid tests to us if we need them. So, that’s a load off my mind.