Having a diagnostic test allows public health authorities to separate the infected from the uninfected
Let me explain the challenge, using my own recent experience as a “patient.” A couple weeks ago, I received my annual flu shot. The next evening, I felt some muscle aches, followed by a stuffy nose and fatigue. No fever, no cough.
Here’s the dilemma: a lot of other respiratory illnesses can look like Covid early on . In medicine, we call this the “differential diagnosis.” In order to reduce spread of Covid, we need to be able to distinguish between these pathogens easily and quickly – and with Covid, we really need to enlist the patient’s help.
I decided that the responsible course was to get tested, but the testing site where I work had reduced its operating hours and closed 20 minutes before I arrived. I considered going to the emergency room, but they don’t need to be flooded by people with minor illnesses. Plus, if I didn’t have Covid, the last thing I wanted was to risk getting exposed in a hospital “hot zone” from Covid patients. All the $25 rapid test kits were sold out at the local drug stores.
I doubt my experience is unique. The rapid Covid tests fly off the local pharmacy shelves as soon as they are stocked. I know others who have had similar difficulty finding the rapid tests. My colleagues with school-aged children confessed that they notify their circle of friends when the Covid tests hit the shelves and dash to the store and buy them up. No wonder I couldn’t find any.
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