How Do They Test for The Delta Variant?

[gk10012001]

 

Well, quoting from the article much is assumed and not actually checked or verified.  They claim the majprity of cases are Delta Variant, yet they also say they do not test.  OK, so how much did they test?  How much do they test?  One out of ten cases?  one out of 100?   

 

"Although there is no specific test for the Delta variant, it’s likely a positive Covid-19 result indicates you could be infected with the variant, according to Human and Health Services of Texas.  The reason is because the majority of Covid cases in the United States are the Delta variant. In order to specifically check for the Delta variant, a genomic sequencing Covid-19 test is required, which certain labs and local health departments have access to.  According to Human and Health Services of Texas, the volume of positive cases is the main reason why genomic sequencing is not performed on every test.

 

https://www.the-sun.com/lifestyle/3419789/covid-19-delta-variant-test/

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Given the huge number of cases, it's not necessary to test each one to find out which variant it is. Statistical sampling is all that's needed.

[gk10012001]

4 minutes ago, placeholder said:

Given the huge number of cases, it's not necessary to test each one to find out which variant it is. Statistical sampling is all that's needed.

Perhaps.  But how much sampling did they do?  I could not find any first hand analysis or data presented anywhere.  And the sampling method assumes a typical Normal distribution across the population.  What theory or empirical data shows how Delta is distributed across the population? 

[placeholder]

Just now, gk10012001 said:

Perhaps.  But how much sampling did they do?  I could not find any first hand analysis or data presented anywhere.  And the sampling method assumes a typical Normal distribution across the population.  What theory or empirical data shows how Delta is distributed across the population? 

Really? You're going to go with this nonsense? Ya think that this is all new to public health agencies around the world? That there aren't standard protocols in place for dealing with an epidemic or pandemic? That these agencies aren't staffed with highly trained medical statistiicians? Are you shooting for creating the silliest and most improbable objections all in service of covid denialism?

[gk10012001]

3 minutes ago, placeholder said:

Really? You're going to go with this nonsense? Ya think that this is all new to public health agencies around the world? That there aren't standard protocols in place for dealing with an epidemic or pandemic? That these agencies aren't staffed with highly trained medical statistiicians? Are you shooting for creating the silliest and most improbable objections all in service of covid denialism?

What are you on about?  It is not my fault if you have no science or math background. I do have advanced degrees.  I ask basic questions and you go bonkers, because you parrot things without understanding them.  Then you start espousing crazy ideas and going off no tangents about things.  You need to go back to school and learn to think critically and rationally.  As far as plans for epidemics?  Hardly across the globe.  Most countries just react when things start going bad.  Highly trained statistics people?  Some places of course do.   You are free to believe what you want about the credentials of the Thai medical authorities, the Cambodians, the Laotians and if they are even allowed to speak and discuss things openly

[gk10012001]

On 8/11/2021 at 8:56 PM, placeholder said:

Really? You're going to go with this nonsense? Ya think that this is all new to public health agencies around the world? That there aren't standard protocols in place for dealing with an epidemic or pandemic? That these agencies aren't staffed with highly trained medical statistiicians? Are you shooting for creating the silliest and most improbable objections all in service of covid denialism?

I never said I thought it was new to public health agencies around the world. Those are your words.   You certainly like to make silly and incorrect generalizations and make things up. 

[ukrules]

On 8/12/2021 at 7:53 AM, gk10012001 said:

Perhaps.  But how much sampling did they do?  I could not find any first hand analysis or data presented anywhere.  And the sampling method assumes a typical Normal distribution across the population.  What theory or empirical data shows how Delta is distributed across the population? 

This might be helpful and it answers your qestion about how much sampling they do (not so much, maybe) : https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/variants/cdc-role-surveillance.html

 

They were checking 750 samples per week which isn't many but there were / are plans to scale this up to 20,000 per week.

 

 

 

Edited August 13, 2021 by ukrules

[placeholder]

4 hours ago, gk10012001 said:

I never said I thought it was new to public health agencies around the world. Those are your words.   You certainly like to make silly and incorrect generalizations and make things up. 

Still deflecting. The point is that even if you knew how they sampled populations, what would that number tell you? We know that very wealthy countries with very sophisticated public health systems have told us all we need to know about the variants and how transmissible they are. Do you believe that the Delta variant is going to behave differently in Thailand than it has elsewhere in the world? This is just more grasping at straws in the service of obfuscation.

[treetops]

6 hours ago, gk10012001 said:

I never said I thought it was new to public health agencies around the world. Those are your words.   You certainly like to make silly and incorrect generalizations and make things up. 

Stop digging.  You're looking more foolish with every post.

[Scott]

Inflammatory post and reply reported and removed.  

 

 

[Tropposurfer]

A Texas health website is your go to for clinical advice ... ahh just spit-balling here but maybe, just maybe that's not a source of viral information to be taken as reliable or trustworthy. I mean, given the state of play both infection wise and from the actions of the sociopathic Governor, and the gaggle or other misinformation spreaders that are coming out of that state.

[Tropposurfer]

A Texas health website is your go to for clinical advice ... ahh just spit-balling here but maybe, just maybe that's not a source of viral information to be taken as reliable or trustworthy. I mean, given the state of play both infection wise and from the actions of the sociopathic Governor, and the gaggle or other misinformation spreaders that are coming out of that state.

I just did a search of Australian govt. and medical organisations (not Wikipedia or some such unverified non-peer reviewed stuff) and it seems there is no 'specific' test to detect the Delta variant of Covid.

However it can be detected and delineated from previous strains by using the same PCR tests and genome mapping - mapping used to guide development of the vaccines we use for the original variants.

https://fullfact.org/health/delta-variant-tests/

https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/variants/delta-variant.html

https://www.health.govt.nz/our-work/diseases-and-conditions/covid-19-novel-coronavirus/covid-19-health-advice-public/about-covid-19/covid-19-about-delta-variant

https://aci.health.nsw.gov.au/covid-19/critical-intelligence-unit/sars-cov-2-variants

 

Hope some of the Australian and NZ info helps.

[Tropposurfer]

Some of what seems to be the salient points to focus on about Covid (Delta or not Delta) seem to be:

 

1. Don't get devolved in this strain or that strain listen to, and look at the far-and-above successful historical world epidemiology to see the path forward i.e. we don't have polio as a world issue anymore, people rarely die of this, TB, tetanus 'lockjaw', diphtheria anymore, etc (well not in privileged countries).
2. The evidence of people who have been vaccinated and later test positive for Delta, and previous strains of Covid 19 don't (except in extremely rare and minute percentages of cases) have serious or life threatening symptoms after vaccination.
3. Magical thinking, exertion of personal willpower, saying it doesn't exist, or isn't what it is, don't impact a viruses genetic imperative to reproduce whatsoever. 
4. Viruses have no moral or other conscious imperative, their sole purpose is to reproduce.
5. Get vaccinated asap.
6. Vaccination is the surest way we know to developing (low morbidity) herd immunity which in turn starves the present strains of viable hosts to reproduce itself in thus the evolutionary development of new more resistant, and as Delta indicates, efficient, deadly strains in the near and further future.
7. Vaccination is the only, and surest fire way we have at our disposal at this point to move back to a 'normal' world (travel, no masks, returning to a normal death rate and hospitalisation rate), ... other than to forget about vaccination and immunity development and simply let a lot, a real lot of unvaccinated people die that is!
8. Vaccination does not (it appears so far) prevent being infected by Covid, however what it does do is neutralise the way the virus impacts the host i.e. you're highly unlikely to die i.e. about 90% + less chance of dying if you do contract it (this is a rounded overall figure on the effects of all the Covid vaccine types used so far in the world).