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Mass Covid Testing a “Waste of Time and Money”, MPs Told

by Michael Curzon
20 April 2021 8:13 PM

Biostatistics Professor Jon Deeks has criticised the Government’s mass Covid testing plan as a waste of “time and money”, highlighting that in some areas only one positive case has been found after 10,000 tests. Professor Deeks, a Senior Researcher at the Institute of Applied Health Research at Birmingham University, told the All Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on Coronavirus that there is “no evidence” to show mass testing works. He is quoted in the Telegraph:

“For this mass test, the Innova test, we have the Liverpool study and the University of Birmingham study, that’s a total of 78 cases where we know how well it detects (positive cases).

“That is absolutely outrageous that we are now testing the whole population based effectively on data from 78 people, which actually showed it doesn’t work very well…

“In the South West at the moment, I think we are down to 0.09% prevalence and that probably means we would be using 10,000 tests to find one case in the next few weeks.

“I don’t think that’s a good use of people’s time or money or public health capital to do that. There are far better things we could be doing.”

The APPG is chaired by Liberal Democrat MP Layla Moran, who said: “[Mass testing] seems to be the panacea at the moment… [but] how reliable is it?”

Earlier this month, the Government promised twice-weekly Covid tests for everyone in England. Sky News had the story.

The Government says the offer is currently for England only and the devolved administrations in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland will make their own decisions.

A major marketing campaign encouraging people to take up the offer of twice-weekly lateral flow tests will also start in England this Friday…

The programme is effectively the long-delayed “Operation Moonshot” of 10 million Covid tests a day, costing an estimated £100 billion, promised by Health Secretary Matt Hancock last summer.

When he told the Commons it would start as early as December, MPs laughed, prompting Mr Hancock to brand them “nay-sayers” and telling them to “get with the programme”.

Now the Government says that alongside vaccination, regular Covid testing will be an essential part of easing lockdown restrictions and help quickly suppress the spread of variants.

The Telegraph report is worth reading in full.

Tags: Jon DeeksLateral Flow TestsMass testing

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18 Comments
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awildgoose
awildgoose
4 years ago

The testing-industrial complex will not be pleased by the good professor’s comments…

31
-1
bOrgkilLaH1of7
bOrgkilLaH1of7
4 years ago
Reply to  awildgoose

Off topic, but very relevant to the accelerating WEF draconian agenda.

Yesterday whilst the Brit MSM was headlining the footy break-away, the Bank of England [subtly] announced that the pound Ster£ing is going fully digital….

https://www.pymnts.com/news/international/2021/uk-taskforce-to-examine-design-launch-of-digital-pound/

Yes your physical cash will soon be history, [all part of the RESET plan]

And once the Bank of England digital coin wallet is linked to your trap-n-trace digital NHS health app, and lifestyle security passport, it’s quickly vectored toward the new normal social credit scores…

Simply put…

You’ve become a slave.

Please watch, and share this mission critical documentary!

https://odysee.com/@OracleFilms:1/The-Push-back-Oracle-Films-2021-World-Wide-Rally-WWD-Global-protest-UK:7

1615449691276.jpg
25
0
Cristi.Neagu
Cristi.Neagu
4 years ago
Reply to  bOrgkilLaH1of7

“Sorry sir, but your card has been declined.”
“What!? What for?”
“It says here you posted something mean on Twitter… shouldn’t have done that.”

27
0
10navigator
10navigator
4 years ago
Reply to  Cristi.Neagu

I’ve been suspended ‘indefinitely’ for posting LS info on F/B. Seems the truth, or anything that doesn’t endorse the F/B narrative, is anathema to them.

3
0
imp66
imp66
4 years ago
Reply to  Cristi.Neagu

Your card will be declined until you take the vaccines…

3
0
Annie
Annie
4 years ago

Let’s test Boris three times a day and leave it at that. One up his nose, one down his throat, and an anal swab. And an AZ booster once a week, to keep us all safe. And double muzzle 24/7.

40
0
Dave
Dave
4 years ago
Reply to  Annie

Which one has the more tousled hair around it?

2
0
RickH
RickH
4 years ago

Again – this has been known for years.

Every single significant measure chosen by this government has no basis whatsoever, and was rejected in previous strategic plans.

28
0
realarthurdent
realarthurdent
4 years ago
Reply to  RickH

Yep. The full extent of the government’s to do the opposite of pandemic planning recommendations is laid bare if you look at the WHO’s October 2019 update to their pandemic guidelines. For example don’t bother using contact tracing if the virus is already widespread.

https://apps.who.int/iris/bitstream/handle/10665/329438/9789241516839-eng.pdf

Capture.JPG
Last edited 4 years ago by realarthurdent
12
0
BeBopRockSteady
BeBopRockSteady
4 years ago
Reply to  RickH

And the politicians sit on the committee with shocked faces.

“So you’re telling me mass screening for a respiratory virus was like chasing shadows?”

6
0
leicestersq
leicestersq
4 years ago

Maybe mass testing might work if you have a slow spreading illness that isnt widespread and you need to get to the few cases that might be out there quickly and then isolate those people. Covid was the opposite to this, it was widespread, quick spreading and probably blowing in the wind if not living quite happily but in a controlled way in the lungs of most of us by the time mass testing was rolled out. No one with an ounce of sense thought that mass testing would stop the virus.

So were they stupid, or were they just trying to generate cases as justification for locking us down and subsequently vaccinating us for something we dont need vaccinating for?

I dont think that they are that stupid.

13
0
SueJM
SueJM
4 years ago
Reply to  leicestersq

Maybe it’s all prep…..to see how far they could push us…..before tempering the real game accordingly? Playing devil’s advocate to myself, sort of!

3
0
Occams Pangolin Pie
Occams Pangolin Pie
4 years ago

Moonshot clearly a lumbering distraction while they complete the Green Bio ID Tel Aviv passes for the Autumn.
Everything in slo mo while we tread water, waiting for some hideously dystopian smartphone GCHQ nonsense now almost totally decoupled from the vanished pandemic.
Good to know Layla Moran is chairing this important committee. Not.

2
0
nickbowes
nickbowes
4 years ago

My workplace gave me a box of these tests a few weeks ago (over £200 a box). I just send a negative result mon and thurs without going anywhere nr a “swab” – just type in the number and bobs yer uncle. Waste of time

7
0
DevonBlueBoy
DevonBlueBoy
4 years ago
Reply to  nickbowes

Same as our daughter with the school issued ones

2
0
AllieT
AllieT
4 years ago

Interesting that the whole ‘LFD for everyone’ thing was announced in early April but since the death of DOE nothing much in the media about it. Hopefully the tide will turn on this too. I have stopped doing mine (work initiated)

3
0
Dave
Dave
4 years ago

It’s well known that the ability of a person to read their own lateral flow test, any LFT, correctly depends not just on their colour vision but also on their psychological need for a particular test result. It’s the reason a certain company developed digital read pregnancy tests. People who are frightened for their job if they have to isolate for 2 weeks and people who want a couple of weeks off on 80% or full pay are going to read the same test result very differently.

2
0
Fingerache Philip
Fingerache Philip
4 years ago

We rest our case.

2
0

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