Positive thinking

Leading researchers warned almost two months ago that the test for COVID-19 used by the NHS and Public Health England was “significantly less sensitive” than other commercial tests. The research found a “lower rate of detection” in the UK test – especially in people with rare lung conditions – warning that this lower performance could help “propagate the epidemic”. The government is already under pressure to explain why the UK has continued to use COVID-19 tests known to be less reliable than commercial alternatives – while infection and death rates have surged. This week openDemocracy published leaked internal documents showing that due to “discordant results”, all NHS and Public Health England labs were ordered to urgently switch to commercially available testing kits by 23 April. That deadline has now been missed. A leading pathologist told openDemocracy that the NHS test’s lesser sensitivity meant it would “miss 25%” of positive results. Public Health England disputes th