2026-06-10
The last real epidemic of testing was unleashed on the world with the Covid pandemic. The PCR test "gold standard" was rolled out everywhere (to be followed by other more simplified tests later on) but the PCR "gold standard" required samples invasively acquired on the end of a very long "cotton bud" pushed up the nose, which then had to be sent off to a laboratory for PCR processing.
It always struck me as unnecessarily unpleasant, though there is no doubt that it was effective even if the laboratories had been set up in huge haste and those who manned them could have had only rudimentary training. Still, at 45 PCR cycles, success was pretty much guaranteed.
Although strangely, there didn't seem to be any data about the rate of false results that could be expected, which is pretty important if we want accurate diagnoses.
Nevertheless, quite aside from pandemics, medical practitioners make considerable use of diagnostic testings of various types, from infections to cancers, from blood pressure to bone density, so clearly they find these tests useful. They are an important weapon in their never ending fight against ill health.
This is one of the most comprehensive articles I have seen about the usefulness of medical tests, and I can wholeheartedly recommend it.
