We’ve received requests for an explainer video of how inexpensive, at-home, COVID-19 screening tests (results in 15 minutes with a nasal or saliva sample) could be utilized to dramatically slow the spread of the coronavirus pandemic (and open up schools etc. in a faster and safer way).
The research of Harvard epidemiologist Dr. Michael Mina and others has shown that COVID 19 test frequency and availability is much more important than test sensitivity (the ability of a test to pick up low levels of virus).
See our previous MedCram videos that have featured Dr. Mina’s research about COVID 19 testing and how quickly identifying individuals who are contagious (and who have high levels of SARS-CoV-2 virus) should be the primary focus.
Kyle Allred, Dr. Seheult, and MedCram have no financial disclosures related to this topic. We have a keen interest in curbing this pandemic and safely re-opening schools and our economy.
2 INITIAL WAYS TO GET MORE INFO AND HELP:
1) visit (a volunteer website directed by Dr. Michael Mina from the Harvard School of Public Health) for more info, FAQ, and streamlined ways to contact elected officials about at-home COVID 19 screening.
2) Please share this video with friends, colleagues, and elected officials.
MORE VIDEOS AND RESOURCES ON AT-HOME COVID 19 SCREENING TESTS
A video summary and highlights of Dr. Mina’s research and ideas in our MedCram COVID 19 Update 98:
A 5 minute summary with Dr. Mina of some key differences between COVID-19 antigen tests with rapid results:
A short explainer video on daily quick tests produced by Dr. Allen (and the “contagious” graphic in this video was produced by him):
Summary Article Featured in the Atlantic about Inexpensive Rapid Testing:
Dr. Mina’s research paper: Test sensitivity is secondary to frequency and turnaround time for COVID-19 surveillance (Pre-print)
TWiV 640: Test often, fast turnaround, interview with Michael Mina:
MORE READING:
A Harvard Magazine article by Jonathan Shaw on August 3, 2020: “Failing the Coronavirus-Testing Test” has a summary of Dr. Mina’s message
Selected excerpts from that article:
“At the moment, the United States has no semblance of public-health testing,” says Michael Mina.
Current tests for active infection with SARS-CoV-2 are highly sensitive—but most are given to suspected COVID-19 patients long after the infected person has stopped transmitting the virus to others. That means the results are virtually useless for public-health efforts to contain the raging pandemic. These PCR (polymerase chain reaction) tests, which amplify viral RNA to detectable levels, are used by physicians, often in hospital settings, to help guide clinical care for individual patients. In general, members of the public have not had access to such tests outside clinical settings, but even if they did, would find them too expensive for frequent use.
“The astounding realization is that all we’re doing with all of this testing is clogging up the testing infrastructure,” with results arriving a week or more after tests are administered, “and essentially finding people for whom we can’t even act because they are done transmitting,” says Mina.
“We need to change the whole script of what it means to test people,” he says. “In our country, we have always assumed that testing belongs in the clinical sphere, in the diagnostic sphere, and has to be run by laboratories or diagnosticians. The result is that we have a system for coronavirus testing…which is flailing, with raging outbreaks occurring.” What the country needs instead are rapid tests, widely deployed, so that infectious individuals can be readily self-identified and isolated, breaking the chain of transmission.
The U.S. government has spent billions of dollars supporting attempts to develop vaccines and therapeutics. “Developing a good vaccine is very difficult to do,” he points out. “It’s a crapshoot that may or may not work. We’re putting billions more into developing therapeutics [treatments for COVID-19] which is really, really difficult.” With rapid testing, by contrast, “We have solutions, sitting in front of us right now, that are cheaper, would be much quicker to build, and much less risky to actually introduce and roll out.”
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Video produced by Kyle Allred, Co-Founder of
Contact Kyle or MedCram by emailing: customers@medcram.com
#rapidtestsnow #dailyquicktest #COVID19
