I’ve probably felt like I had Covid dozens of times over the past couple years – every sniffle, every scratchy throat – but the last few days were the first time I was *certain* I had it due to my symptoms – heavy cough, tight chest, fatigued, etc. etc. – along with the sense from social media and other conversations that *everybody* has Covid right now.
Except…
I’ve tested regularly, sometimes multiple times a day (as have the other three in the family) and, even if RATs aren’t as accurate as they could be (see below) and/or it sometimes takes a few days for a positive result to show up, you’d think *one* of us – the nurse whose gone into the hospital every day for the past two years, the librarian in a public facing role (who regularly hears patrons oversharing *why* they’re picking up Rapid Test Kits) or our two kids in two different schools who are eating unmasked with classmates or have some classmates/teachers not wearing masks at all – would have tested positive by now after a few days of feeling like this.
So anyhow, hopefully I’m not jinxing it by talking about it (the flip side is maybe we’re some of those handful of people who seem to be naturally immune to Covid?) but that has inspired me for another Covid-themed round-up…
How Accurate Are Rapid Tests Now? – CBC
Medical experts continue to warn that a negative result on a rapid test doesn’t necessarily mean you don’t have COVID-19. New Swiss research, which is yet to be peer-reviewed, suggests some rapid tests have “significantly lower sensitivity” to Omicron than to the Delta variant.
We’ve been conditioned that rapid tests are almost infalliable but that story is changing as more variants appear and also, ironically, people who come into contact with Covid but are fully vaccinated, carry a lower viral load so the tests aren’t as reliable for showing if you’re positive, even if you have symptoms.
The technique you use in administering a rapid test to yourself or someone else also matters a great deal. And experts say a quick swish around each nostril is no longer sufficient, despite what the instructions in the box might say.
For a more accurate result, Hota recommends swabbing the bottom inside of both cheeks, then your throat, tonsils or the back of your tongue — “depending on what you can tolerate” — then swabbing both nostrils. The swab should go about 2 centimetres into each nostril, for several circles, she said.
This is borne out anecdotally as I’ve noticed a huge uptick in the number of people saying “I’ve been sick lately but I tested negative so here I am at work/this party/a family gathering” when the reality is they very well could be positive for Covid.
Counter-point – that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t use rapid tests!
Don't give up on rapid tests! says @angie_rasmussen We spoke with an epidemiologist just now who says they have always had a 70% accuracy rate. He says just more cases now. And stay home if symptomatic but negative he says #covid19sk https://t.co/J8BKWdg57p
— Stefani Langenegger (@SLangeneggerCBC) April 12, 2022
(Oh, and interesting that only Saskatchewan, Nova Scotia and Manitoba (Winnipeg only) have public libraries listed as pick-up locations for rapid test kits when they’re a natural distribution point in my view.)
https://mobile.twitter.com/michaelmina_lab/status/1514114020940390400
Covid isn’t over but one of the few remaining reliable ways to know how things are going is wastewater analysis. And it’s not good…
The #COVID19 viral load in #Saskatoon wastewater jumps 743 per cent to reach the highest level ever measured in the most recent study.
Also a huge surge in #NorthBattleford (250 per cent) and an increase in #PrinceAlbert (56 per cent).#BA2 is dominant in all.#skpoli #COVID19SK pic.twitter.com/wSzq68RiYW— Phil Tank (@thinktankSK) April 11, 2022
And new more transmissible and/or more potent variants continue to appear (its false to believe that viruses always evolve towards “less lethal”)…
BA.5 detected in South Africa. 84% growth advantage against BA.2 variant. It has the L452R pathogenic mutation found in Delta variant.
— Xabier Ostale (@xabitron1) April 11, 2022
How Did the US Become Numb To The Covid Death Toll?
On May 24, 2020, as the United States passed 100,000 recorded deaths, The New York Times filled its front page with the names of the dead, describing their loss as “incalculable.” Now the nation hurtles toward a milestone of 1 million. What is 10 times incalculable?
There are two basic understandings of Covid – it’s either a mild respiratory virus or it’s a vascular and neurotropic disease that causes microclotting and brain tissue loss and debilitating long-term effects for some…
Making sense of Ontario CMOH Moore's complacency about rapid spread of COVID in schools and elsewhere.
A thread.
There are two ways to understand COVID:
1. "It's only a respiratory virus, and if we can keep people out of the ICU, it's a win. Wear a mask if you want."
1/7
— Colin Furness MISt PhD MPH (@FurnessColin) April 11, 2022
People Are Developing Trauma-Like Symptoms As The Pandemic Wears On
But Cohen Silver said the pandemic was different. For one, there wasn’t a single event — it was more like a “slow-moving disaster” that “escalated in intensity over time” but doesn’t have a clear beginning or endpoint. And that makes it harder to categorize, or even recognize.
A MAGA judge overruled the Federal rule on masking on planes and other methods of transportation…
https://www.twitter.com/Liberal151/status/1516315865393860610
…literally effective the moment the ruling came down with no warning at all!
https://www.twitter.com/enchantedtamara/status/1516243551427997696
Very likely 
