Originally Posted by
wchinchen
Thats the issue at hand, that there are asymptomatic spreaders, and hence social distancing for the entire country because we can't test every single individual in the US. The question that follows with what you have asked is why do we test in the first place? For a test that confirms an active infection, the purpose would be to diagnose and guide treatment. For a test that shows a previous anti-body response, it just gathers data of past response to an infection which can be used for epidemiology purposes. I agree, the more clinically useful one is the one that confirms an active infection.
The perfect world would be to test the entire population, and isolate the active individuals who are both symptomatic and asymptomatic. Due to an imperfect world, social distancing/self quarantine is the best that we have for the entire population due to resource constraints. Tests can help guide physicians to make the proper diagnosis and treatment plan for the front line staff.
I have a problem with requiring testing unless the test results can and will be used to guide treatment or otherwise benefit the patient. IMO it's OK to test when someone is being admitted to the hospital so that one knows whether PPE is required and whether the person should be put into a ward with other COVID-19 cases, but for mild symptoms, the best medical advice is simply to self quarantine and perhaps take some OTC medicines to relieve symptoms.
Testing everyone, whether for asymptomatic infection or acquired immunity, is the equivalent of asking everyone to be a human subject with no Institutional Review Board approval procedures, no informed consent, and no possible compensation.
Similarly, those here who are suggesting that all airline passengers (and crew, I would hope) be tested should ask themselves whether they would want TSA or most countries' low-level airport employees to perform somewhat invasive and unpleasant medical procedures, including drawing blood from a huge number of healthy-appearing individuals. For instance, think how difficult it is to get a TSA employee to put on clean gloves before doing a pat-down search or touching and digging through carry on items that will later be handled or worn by the passenger.