A Californian firm backed by private equity has won deals with No10 to supply more than a billion coronavirus tests ahead of the mass twice-a-week testing drive. Innova Medical Group has raked in £2.8billion from British taxpayers in controversial deals for lateral flow tests that give results within 30 minutes. It was officially founded last … Read more
Officials today defended the accuracy of controversial lateral flow tests as the Government announced everyone in England will be tested twice a week as part of a bold scheme to ease lockdown. Health Minister Edward Argar said the cheap devices – which offer results in as little as 15 minutes – could play a ‘key part’ … Read more
Rapid coronavirus tests may miss four in 10 asymptomatic people, a major review has concluded. Researchers who analysed 64 studies of the effectiveness of lateral flow devices found they failed to detect 42 per cent of cases who didn’t show signs of illness. The Cochrane review found the tests, which give a result in 30 … Read more
Government scientists mounted a furious attack on critics of lateral flow tests today, accusing them of being ‘prejudiced’ and insisting the 15-checks were reliable. Dr Susan Hopkins, the chief medical adviser for NHS Test and Trace, and Sage‘s Professor Calum Semple were among 14 senior figures who lashed out at academics who have cast doubt on the … Read more
Controversial rapid lateral flow tests ‘can detect most infectious cases’ of coronavirus, a Government-led study has claimed amid concerns about their reliability. Oxford University scientists who carried out the research found the devices, which give a result within half an hour, catch between 84 and 90 per cent of Covid-positive people. Number 10 has spent more … Read more
Someone’s getting the sack! Snaps reveal how things go wrong when an incompetent person is left in charge – including bizarre shopping substitutions a steel baby bottle A series of amusing snaps collated by BoredPanda reveal people’s terrible ideas Images taken from across the globe include a set of swings facing each other Features shampoo reading … Read more
Professor Jon Deeks, a biostatistician from the University of Birmingham, accused the Government of making lateral flow tests seem ‘better than they are’ Boris Johnson‘s extortionate Operation Moonshot mass-swabbing scheme could accelerate Covid’s spread because the tests are so inaccurate, a top expert has warned. Professor Jon Deeks, a testing expert at the University of Birmingham, … Read more
The scientists behind the Government’s Moonshot testing plans have leapt to the defence of lateral flow coronavirus tests – even after their own study found they were less than 50 per cent reliable at detecting the virus. Experts who masterminded the pilot in Liverpool say the rapid tests are ‘very helpful’ and a ‘good alternative’ … Read more
Number 10‘s ambitious Operation Moonshot came under fire from top scientists today amid fears the rapid coronavirus tests being rolled out across the UK aren’t good enough as ministers shelved plans to open up mass testing centres over Christmas. Moonshot has been slated as way to use the rapid kits – which cost a fraction … Read more
Coronavirus lateral flow tests only pick up 49 per cent of infections because they fail to catch people with low levels of the virus, researchers have found. The findings of a pilot of 3,199 people has blown a hole in the Government’s mass testing strategy, which featured plans to hand out millions of 30-minute tests … Read more