Thread by @sunnshiiny

The serology tests CPC is demanding to be approved are not going to change the fact that Provincial premiers have not invested in expanding testing capacity.

That’s the issue. Not the tests themselves.

Many miss that issue and focus on the absence of Health Canada approval.

https://twitter.com/gtlem/status/1311321345708392450

What the speaker on P&P stated is true. There are two types of tests. The nasal swab and saliva test.

The nasal swab can detect the virus in very small quantities. It tests for the actual virus in your system.

The test results determined by a lab. Costing a province money.

The saliva test only tests for antigens, not the virus. It can only detect antigens once they reach certain quantities. Meaning, early stages of infection are beyond capacity of the test. Providing a FALSE Negative.

It’s also a health product being sold by for-profit marketers.

Serologic tests don’t impact the provincial budgets as much because the test results are provided almost immediately outside of a lab. So no technician is required. No testing equipment, no lab. Just your saliva and about 15 minutes.

And consumers can buy their own tests.

Meaning conservative free market, private healthcare supporting premiers can pass the cost off to residents. Some people are stating quick tests will improve control of COVid and better enable control of Covid’s impact.

That’s the reason premiers and CPC are pushing for serology tests to be approved immediately.

Expansion of COVid testing requires nasal swabs, people to administer the test, the labs where it is tested, and the technicians to complete the test. Those all cost money.

Select premiers do NOT want to expand testing capacity. They prefer the public take matters into their own hands.

Which premiers are pushing for the tests most?

Kenney,
Ford,
Legault.

The three epicentres of the second wave of COVid & the same three premiers who want private healthcare vs public healthcare.

Coincidence? No.

It shouldn’t be hard for the average citizen to figure out why.

CPC is applying pressure for Health Canada to approve the tests.

Conservative premiers don’t want to expand testing capacity. They don’t want to spend the money on public health. That’s why line ups for testing are so long and why it takes so long to get results.

Publicly funded labs and testing facilities are now operating over capacity. Not enough testing can be done to keep on top of a virus that spreads like a grass fire. Wild and out of control.

For whatever reason conservatives are reluctant to track and isolate COVid outbreaks.

Are those premiers trying to induce a “herd effect” like Trump is in the US? That would require about 60-70% of the population to contract the virus. Many would die. Many many more than would die using nasal swab tests exclusively. Because nasal swab tests are superior accuracy.

Testing capacity is becoming overwhelmed because the numbers of tests in the second wave of COVid far exceeds the numbers during the first wave. We didn’t start at zero cases.

When COVid began in January 2020, we started from a base of zero cases.

Tests were restricted to symptomatic patients.
That’s no longer the case since we’ve learned about asymptomatic infection, super spreaders and the long lag between infection and symptoms. But transmission begins long before symptoms occur, if they ever occur.

The base is no longer zero. It’s 23,224 and rising sharply. And those are the cases we are aware of and confirmed. We know people are infected and moving about the community. So more people are going to get infected and more people are spreading the infection.

Keeping on top of the second wave and flattening the curve REQUIRES significantly more testing. We know more about the virus and how contagious it is.

Meaning we need more testing capacity to track and isolate outbreaks quickly. Or the virus will spread untraced exponentially.

But select premiers are refusing to expand testing. Putting all the emphasis on serologic tests. Tests that only indicate antigens, not the infection. To confirm infection, a nasal swab test must be completed.

If only individuals with positive saliva tests receive a nasal swab test, that would drastically reduce the number of tests conducted (reducing provincial financial commitment) and exponentially spread Covid among the population (false negatives). Untraced and unchecked.

Serology ONLY indicates a positive once a certain level of antigens are produced. But the ability to infect others comes long before sufficient levels of antigen are detectable.

This would produce US and UK level morbidity and mortality rates (infection & death rates).

Serologic tests are NOT the game changer. But Conservatives are trying to pass it off as a game changer, because it allows provinces to refuse expansion of testing capacity. And pass the cost off to concerned citizens.

The result of approving saliva tests for diagnosis would be exacerbation of the spread of COVid in Canada. Unless the saliva tests are used properly: it is NOT TO BE USED TO DIAGNOSE COVID!

canada.ca/en/health-cana…

Provinces need to expand testing for COVid. Immediately. We are moving into the second wave and it WILL be much worse than the first wave.

And Canadians need to remember what conservatives are making a priority. It is NOT the public’s health.

The priority seems to be profits for test developers. And transfer of the cost back onto the public. Giving the public a false sense of security and safety.