Maybe? I live in Anne Arundel County where you can now get tested for the virus without symptoms or a Doctors note. Simply make an appointment, arrive at the testing site on time and get your nose swabbed. I got the test a few days ago and was in and out in 15 minutes, didn’t even need to leave my car.
I got the test for peace of mind, i’ve been paranoid wearing my mask pretty much everywhere and staying socially distanced. I never realized how much i’d miss hugging my family until I wasn’t allowed to for 3 months. But now I can… right?
In a new study Johns Hopkins researchers found a 20% chance of false negatives. The tests were rushed through the regulatory process (rightly so in my mind) and produced in mass over a very short period. The test itself was just a 20 second nose swab, not exactly a rigorous exam and they didn’t even make me fill out the extensive paperwork you would normally get at a doctors office detailing any symptoms. I appreciate the test and the efforts of the people working there. I have no reason to believe they didn’t do their job to the best of their ability and met every standard set. I have no symptoms, the test results were negative, and I don’t know anyone with the virus… So where is my peace of mind?
I took a long overdue vacation down to North Carolina and the difference in attitudes was shocking. When I go to work my building has minimum staff, hand sanitizer is plentiful and I wear a mask, but in North Carolina no such measures were taken. Restaurants were full, no social distancing was evident, almost no masks were worn, and even the people in kitchens preparing food didn’t seem to be taking any extra precautions. Perhaps that’s why positive tests are still trending upward in North Carolina and going down in Maryland. Do they possess more peace of mind there? Or is it some grim acceptance that nothing can really give them that peace of mind so why even bother?
We need to start reopening and I am by no means saying those in North Carolina were wrong to have restaurants open, but the seeming total lack of care about spreading the virus isn’t the right track either. As we reopen and tests become more plentiful and accurate we need to balance our enthusiasm for getting back to normal with caution. We can never have full peace of mind until we get a vaccine from the virus and an effective treatment. Even then flareups and yearly variants are likely unavoidable, so for right now get tested if you can, wear a mask and wash your hands. We can’t eliminate the virus, but we can make things a little less tense for ourselves and our neighbors.
I'm glad you do not have the sickness. What about next week? And the week after that? The amount of infected people will go up until we hit 350 million
A vaccine for an ever mutating coronavirus is a complete fraud.