PCR: Positive Case Rigging?
PCR tests, since March 2020, have been the beacon that led us into lockdown. Our freedoms have rested in the hands of those vital positives and negatives, those numbers have been used as the guideline for how long or how strict lockdowns should be. One would be sensible to assume that PCR tests, being such crucial indicators of our situation, are an accurate and medically recommended resource. Unfortunately, “sensible” has not been a prevailing quality of our government yet this decade. In terms of accuracy, PCR assays in the UK do have analytical sensitivity and specificity greater than 95%, but these quality assurance processes take place under idealised conditions with hospital samples that contain higher viral loads than most people being tested. This means that the accuracy in real life applications is likely to differ substantially from the official tests. You may also have heard reference to the amount of cycles the sample is put through. The WHO website published a “...