Thread by @DavidJuncker

Is this groundhog day?

'Experts' were wrong on rapid tests all along, first ignoring them, then rejecting them, and only accepting them with #omicron.

Now some reject throat swabbing because it is not how tests were approved by @GovCanHealth

1/n

theglobeandmail.com/canada/article…

Regulatory approval logic commands us to not use the BTNX test shown in the image 👆 because it is not approved for self-testing, nor for asymptomatic testing, as of today. 👇

Yet it is widely distributed and used for self-testing 🤔
2/n

2 years into the pandemic, brainless omicron is again exposing our failure to operate based on intelligence - in the military sense - and make quick decisions based on incomplete information.

By requiring certainty, maybe the only certainty is that it will be too late.
3/n

Testimonies and studies strongly indicate that throat swabbing works and that nose swabbing alone will miss many cases:
Deeper dive:

https://twitter.com/DavidJuncker/status/1480748450446823424?s=20

The concern of false positives is justified, but there is no data of info suggesting that it is actually happening.
4/n

Saliva contains sticky mucin proteins which could bind to the test line and result in false positives

However, the swabs only collect a small amount, and dilution in the assay buffer prevents it

Saliva-based RATs would be ideal. Do we have them?
5/n

Rapid tests were approved because they were good enough, but nose swabbing alone suggests they fail with omicron.

One of the greatest benefit of RATs was to identify who is infectious, and cut chains of infections.
6/n

If we only use nose swabbing, we can already predict with high confidence that we will miss many infectious cases that will go back into the community and spread it.

Testing is critical, and we have neglected it potential for too long.
7/n

We must frame our response within a risk-benefit analysis framework, and consider the exceptional circumstances and the societal threat of omicron.

#swabyourthroat