Roundtable Discussion; The Future of Mineral Sands. Watch the video here.
... LFTs have just been signalled as the clear favourite for REGULAR MASS testing (to be backed up with PCR if positive) and we are in the final stages of CV / CE, and while production capability within the UK is being scaled up massively to meet demand, would it be fair to assume Avacta *might* be involved at this stage?
Once those Innova kits are used and Surescreen have been accounted for, there’s a rather large order for these tests in the UK.
As for Europe....
Change will always be resisted and the most vocal are usually the ones with the most irrational thoughts. The vast majority will be happy to tow the line and commence this new way of life which, let’s face it, is hardly a hardship.
Let’s get all the anti-vaxers in a room with the anti-testers to fight over how many 5G masts we need to pull down :D
Stockpiles - there are likely enough Innova tests lying around to not need any other tests for weeks yet. The public don’t care who is making the test. The timing of the announcement is thanks to low rates after lockdown as much as for our imminent CE marking / CV results.
For those reasons, I don’t think we’ll get the RNS tying us to the scheme tomorrow. That’s a bit too much of a fairytale. What’s important is the government putting the message out there and people getting their heads around the fact that this is the way we’re going to get out, and hopefully stay out, of lockdown. Regardless of the S&S of Innova tests, they need to be used up or the govt will face a backlash on spending. Nevertheless, I expect we will have news soon....
Buchan, who will help with the pilot scheme in Liverpool, tells BBC Breakfast: "Vaccination will not be a criterion for admission to events - there will just be a test for particles of live virus in your nose."
Those taking part will need to take a Covid test within 36 hours of attending, he says.
They will also be asked to get another test five days after the event for research.
Yep. I agree, there will need to be concerted effort to educate the masses about the purpose of mass testing. But it’s all about timing. No point going on a PR campaign today if the test isn’t going to be available tomorrow. The public are fickle and they forget or just don’t pay attention. Even in a pandemic, evidently.
Worth remembering that we may be about to change the way people go about their daily business for the foreseeable future. If you want to get people onboard with such a plan, you have to convince them the product is worth using. All the sceptics out there - like Deeks and the armchair naysayers - will have to be brought around to the concept. And educated about the pros and cons, accordingly. You can’t do that until you’ve rigorously tested the product and proven it’ll do what it says on the tin - which we assume is in its final stages now.
As per the news flow, we’ll see it rolled out for professional use in the workplace, they’ll capture that data, all the while trialling it for individual use. Slowly, people will become accustomed to the ritual. At certain places I work, we’re being LFT’d daily, on entry. Clearly, having all your employees arriving at once and sitting in a waiting area for results is impractical, but it gets people accustomed and builds the case for a self-administered test. The new, effing normal, eh.
As much as I understand people’s reticence to having to produce a ‘passport’ for entry, the other option right now is to keep restrictions in place. I spent the morning listening to a bunch of bleeding-heart civil liberties moaners, bleating on about the surveillance state and giving up ALL of their rights and freedoms. But not a single person had an alternative to the current lockdown measures that don’t involve some sort of vaccine / test passport. And for them they’ll have a choice - either get vaccinated and / or take a test and then produce the evidence, or you don’t get to sit at the table. A complete sh.it show, yes. But if we prove it keeps the R rate down while opening the economy, what choice will we have?
Meh. Slow day. I’m off to the pub. Oh no wait.
Nobody is banning anyone from talking about testing. They’re just not talking about OUR test because it’s still in the final stages of development. If it meets the government’s stringent standards (and I have no doubt there is a process of refinement whereby developers are allowed to make necessary adjustments) I’ll be interested to see how the govt parades it to the public.
Knowing BoJo, he’ll be keen to stress it’s a sovereign test demonstrating the best of British. You can bet there’ll be some chat about it then...
They’ve clearly fed the media whispers of Vaccine Passports over the last few days as it’s all over the media this morning. Interestingly, any sort of pass will include a certificate of a negative test, rather than just proof of vaccination.
Regarding education and telegraphing an intent to adopt a testing strategy - I don’t think that will hit the mainstream until we have a concrete date of testing rollout. With a proven test.
/that have
I’d love to be a fly on the wall in the process. I’d also love to know how many variants the Affimers will be able to bind to. I suspect, once production is up and running, genomic sequencing will identify emerging / dominant variants and a Test v1.2, 1.3, 1.4 etc will start rolling off the production line just as soon as the Affimer is identified. Full CV will not be required once the initial has been proven - I believe AS has already clarified that.
Viral counter warfare. Fascinating stuff...
Will it catch the unknown mutation that has the potential to escape the current batch of Affimers?!
Who knows?! But it won’t, once it’s been identified and a new version is developed at pace.
Therein lies the beauty of Affimers, wouldn’t you say?