Cold weather can affect LFT results29 Jan 2022 15:24
I wonder if PD have a cold weather test in their so called rigorous testing regime.
'Pharmacists warn of risk of incorrect test results due to cold weather
Self-tests and antigen tests can show an incorrect false positive result when taken in temperatures of around 2C or less as cold temperatures can affect the chemical workings of the tests, pharmacists in France have warned.
This is especially a risk for tests taken in the many outdoor testing marquees or tents.
Some tent staff have been trying to find indoor spaces to store and perform the tests as a result – even if only a temporary portacabin – “to ensure the results are as trustworthy as possible”, one worker told FranceInfo.
Pharmacist union l'Union de syndicats de pharmaciens d'officine (USPO) is calling on the government to perform more checks on outdoor testing tents, and reminding staff that the tests can be sensitive to the cold.
"Tests should not be stored in the cold [...] and then, when they are performed, they should be done above 7 or 8 degrees," said Gilles Bonnefond, the spokesperson for USPO.
President of medical biologists union le syndicat national ‘’Les Biologistes médicaux’’ (Biomed) told FranceInfo that self-tests should be used “with caution”, because they are not as reliable as PCR tests.
He said: “Self-tests do not detect large viral charges, so they are less than 44% reliable for people without symptoms. Out of 10 infected people [without symptoms], there will probably be seven to eight false negatives with self-tests.”
He also said that people are advised to “test less, but better”, and that it is only really useful for people who have symptoms. He said that testing people who have already tested positive, just to see if they are still contagious, was largely a waste of tests. '
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