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The spread of the Omicron variant, which is racing through the population at a staggering speed, has brought renewed focus to the value and reliability of the at-home lateral flow test (LFT).

These rapid testing devices were initially viewed with caution by some scientists, who were concerned that the LFTs simply weren’t effective enough in detecting infections.

So do we actually know if the regulators have actually approved any of the British ones yet. The last we heard from ncyt was 2.5 months ago:

Further to the announcement on 29 June 2021, the Company's confirms there is a delay in the launch of PathFlow® COVID-19 Rapid Antigen, a self-LFT to detect SARS-CoV-2 antigens, previously expected in Q3 2021. This delay is due to increased demand for self-test approvals causing a backlog of tests currently under review by the Company's Notified Body. The Notified Body has communicated a delay of up to six months, therefore, the Company is also evaluating other approved options for a COVID-19 self-LFT.

So there was a delay because so many approvals were trying to squeeze through a very small pipe. Ok, get that, but is the pipe actually open because I haven't seen or heard of any approvals for self test LFT's come through since. ODX apparently have an amazing one. Avacta will tell you there's is the best, ncyt are quality. There will be many more. Has anyone heard or seen anything regarding this self test which would be selling like hot cakes globally right now. Bizarre that 2 years in almost and we're still restricted to Chinese tests.

It's not just about vaccines. We know they work in most part but they have to been seen as 1 part of our defense, yes albeit the best part some may say.

If Liverpool's defence consisted of just Van Dijk and Klopp forgot to use Matip, Robertson and TAA would they concede more goals. The answer is of course yes.

Wear masks
Keep your distance
Sanitise
Test whenever you know you're going to be mingling.
Avoid crowds where possible.

A boosted individual that doesn't employ any of these other safety measures is more of a spread risk than an unvaccinated individual that does.

Pfizer today said that it expects the Covid-19 pandemic to continue until 2024.

The pharmaceutical company also said that it is testing a lower-dose version of its vaccine for two to four-year-olds but that it generated a weaker immune response than it had hoped, potentially delaying its authorisation, reports Reuters.

“The data are illustrating the impact of a booster and that our vaccine works best as a primary regimen of three doses,” the company’s chief scientific officer, Mikael Dolsten, said on a conference call.

Pfizer said it expects its vaccine, which it developed with BioNTech, to generate a revenue of $31bn next year.

Woah, $31bn. You can see why there might be some lobbying from time to time. They also don't seem too shy to shout about it.

Just a matter of when not if. You can pretty much guess that when ever it is that BoJo decides to lock the gate the horse would have already bolted and be about 3 counties away.

BBC News - Covid: More measures needed to limit hospitalisations - Sage scientists
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-59707252

Tut tut Woody, that's exactly the kind of statement that would suggest you're only here to disrupt and gloat.

Switching from PCR to LFT, not going to happen. These crappy LFT's are like tossing a coin in most cases. It would only make the problem worse.

Current positivity rate is approx. 93000 cases / 600k tests = 15.5%.

We currently have approx 900k capacity so assuming the positivity rate stays at say 15% the 900k tests would return 135000 cases. We could reach that early next week. This means the gov need to increase capacity. At the peak of Omicron you may expect the positivity rate to be 50% so if we see say 1,000,000 cases per day we would need a capacity of 2,000,000 tests. That's just over double what we have now. Look at what Boris was able to do with the booster push. Doubled capacity over night.

What I would say is 2,000,000 PCR tests per day even if only for a couple of weeks would mean some sizeable contracts for some PCR companies. Ncyt have mega labs, hospital labs and doctor's office all catered for. Big opportunities may be arising.

Don't worry Porky, I'll hold the fort while you're gone.

Have a good one

Wish I was going, oh wait.....

BBC News - Covid: Omicron now dominant in England - health experts
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-59702675

Omicron is now dominant, that didn't take long. But by my maths, it isn't replacing Delta, it's joining it.

93000 total cases
50000 54% Omicron
43000 Delta

Well we were having 40k+ Delta cases daily throughout November. Doesn't bode well.

Could we be in a upward trend until January results. 10%-15% weekly gains would be nice. Puts us about £7 by end of Jan.

Let's hope DA can get his options sorted so he can start feeding the market. Not the morally right thing to do but no rule says he can't so why not from his perspective. He doesn't know any of us.

Vaccines can be prophylactic (to prevent or ameliorate the effects of a future infection by a natural or "wild" pathogen), or therapeutic (to fight a disease that has already occurred, such as cancer).[2][3][4][5] Some vaccines offer full sterilizing immunity, in which infection is prevented completely.[6]

So it's a prophylactic vaccine that ameliorates the effects of a future infection.

So it does work. How well does it work? 75-85% after 3 doses 3 months apart. Better than nothing. Better than waiting 10 years for a perfect vaccine. May as well build up to one.

At the beginning the risk/reward ratio is weighted more towards risk for me personally but in a few years with a little more development and homework and knowledge the ratio will flip.

In a very looooooooose sense of the word, yes they are Woody. That's the absolute best I can do for you. We are certainly in a better position with them than without.

We would have to define the role of a vaccine to understand if it is working or not.

Ah I see, 2 wrongs make a right. I'll try.

Well I'm send this crystal ball back.

We're going to make it a blue day.

False alarm, you can let go now.

Hold onto your knicker strings

Hamster, apparently not

That damn 367 again.

We knew it was going to happen. The gov, mmmm.....

They're only confirming a fraction of the positives. We have Escapeplex that could tell them and it's designed to be used in the central labs. They have what they need right here in the UK. Shambolic

What does the last sentence of below say. Why arn't they being used more. Come on DHSc. You have what you need on your very doorstep. Buy British you set of clowns.

SNPsig® SARS-CoV-2 Escapeplex™

Following the successful launch of Escapeplex™ as a research-use-only (RUO) test in April 2021, Novacyt has launched a CE Mark version of the test to meet demand for clinical use. Escapeplex™ includes gene targets for four key mutations or Variants of Concern (VoC) of SARS-CoV-2, enabling clinicians and laboratories to detect the most significant virus variants in a single kit. The test identifies four escape mutations known to be associated with the most significant VoCs. Escapeplex™ has been designed to be used in central laboratories with open PCR platforms.