Mass Testing ?

[Bill]

That makes more sense than trying to test the whole population via the post. The way I see it is that the labs currently only have the capacity to process half a million tests per day and if the population is about 80 million, then it’s going to take six months to do this and you could be dead by then.

Personally, I think that too much emphasis has been put on mass testing. Yes, it does pick up some cases that might otherwise have gone unchecked but the numbers are so small for the effort and cost.  I believe that if this same effort and cost could have been used to ensure that people kept to the rules, there would be a far greater overall benefit.

 

Bill 😊

[Davy51]

But a blanket test could help to reveal just how virulent this pandemic is. It could even provide a pointer to how many people have actually had the virus & what percentage became very ill or died. A test could even be taken to test for antibodies among the population. I'm sure it would be more efficient than relying on testing stations & doctors to administer.

It is interesting also how the vaccine makers are now able to forecast vaccines for next spring  ,as opposed to the many years of research & development normally needed, & will no doubt be open to offers for their treatments. I do wonder if we have been led up the garden path with this pandemic. Certain people and organisations are making billions.

[Observer II]

if we are being "led up the garden path" the rest of the world is too, with he possible exception of the CCP.     😷

[Confused52]

2 hours ago, Davy51 said:

..

It is interesting also how the vaccine makers are now able to forecast vaccines for next spring  ,as opposed to the many years of research & development normally needed, & will no doubt be open to offers for their treatments. I do wonder if we have been led up the garden path with this pandemic. Certain people and organisations are making billions.

Very early on I recall ModeRNA pointing out that they had been working for ten years to create the system they used to design the vaccine. Only Pfizer are likely to make make super-profits because they alone did not get government funding in their development. This is a special case of course because there has never been such an urgent need before since we had the capability to design vaccines. It is truly a cause for celebration that we can now do this.

[Bill]

Davy

They said on TV tonight that part of the reason the vaccines came so quickly, was that the techniques were like those already developed in the creation of an Ebola vaccine. Also, because the pandemic was a global, there was more international co-operation between the developers.

As for the drug companies making billions, that has always been thorny issue. They don’t know how successful a vaccine is going to be or even if it will work, so it’s a huge financial risk for them to take, especially when there’s so many others all trying to do the same.

On the mass testing though, I think it’s a bit of a waste of time, because we already know it’s BAD, and putting all our efforts and resources into finding out exactly how bad won’t change anything. Instead, we should focus on measures to prevent the spread and bring down the R number. Well that’s what I think anyway.

 

Bill

 

[Davy51]

The drugs industry is global & has a new global market covering major economies that need  to be fully reopened asap.