Elon musk on covid

[oil pan 4]

https://nypost.com/2020/11/13/elon-m...-test-results/
To quote the article cause I'm sure it will go dead or get edited.

Elon Musk sowed doubts about the accuracy of coronavirus tests on Friday — just hours after tweeting that he took four rapid tests with conflicting results.

The Tesla boss and fifth-richest man in the world had initially tweeted Thursday night that “Something extremely bogus is going on” regarding COVID-19 testing. “Two tests came back negative, two came back positive. Same machine, same test, same nurse.”

Media outlets quickly jumped on Musk’s tweets with stories highlighting his positive diagnosis — provoking the prickly tech entrepreneur to protest.

“Technically, I tested positive, then negative twice, then positive again, so ‘Elon Musk Tests Negative for Covid’ is an equally correct title,” he tweeted.

Yeet out!

[redpoint5]

I've got similar complaints of testing. One study I read regarding PCR testing said that if you have Covid and get tested on the day most likely to return a positive result, there is a 20% false negative rate.

My anecdote is that I tested 6 days after my wife had her most severe symptoms, and the beginning of my symptoms. A friend staying with us tested on the same day. We both got negative test results.

A week later I tested again and got a positive result. Similar story for our friend.

A positive result is likely very reliable, meaning there are few false positives. A person can test Covid positive and yet no longer be contagious somehow. The guidance is that 10 days after first symptoms of covid, and absent any worsening symptoms or fever, a person is no longer contagious. Not sure how that works since it took 2 weeks for me to lose taste, and 3 weeks to develop the most minor cough (like 3 coughs a day).

https://www.acpjournals.org/doi/10.7326/M20-1495

Anyhow, Musk has joined the ranks of the invulnerable, so we can resume life as normal.

[JSH]

This story got me interest in testing so I took a little spin over to the CDC's COVID testing FAQ. It seems that testing is the wild, wild west. There are hundreds of labs offering tests, the VAST majority haven't even by FDA Authorized and none are FDA approved. 174 have been "removed" from the market - but who knows if they were actually recalled.

The specific test used by Musk, BD Veritor, specifically says it must be administered within the first 5 days of symptoms. It also warns about false negatives. It specifically says:

Antigen tests are very specific for the virus, but are not as sensitive as molecular tests. This means that a positive result is highly accurate, but a negative result does not rule out infection.

The instructions for collecting the sample also only says to swab 1 inch inside the nostril. More comfortable for the patient but less likely to collect the virus than the tests that swab WAY back in the nasal passage.

CDC FAQ
https://www.fda.gov/medical-devices/...#testingsupply

Musk's Test:
Medial Provider Instructions: https://www.fda.gov/media/139753/download
Patient Instructions: https://www.fda.gov/media/139754/download

[oil pan 4]

So assuming no malice it's a failure to read the directions.