Boris Johnson’s proposal for a mass UK roll out of rapid COVID-19 testing technology – his moonshot testing plan – has been met with scepticism by a number of scientists and researchers.
With infection levels in the UK rising, and new restrictions on social gatherings due to come into force from Monday 14th Sept, the British prime minister has suggested that the daily processing of millions of rapid tests – capable of delivering results in as little as 20 minutes – could be used to intensify the crack down on the spread of the disease and to identify people who are negative, therefore enabling them to safely take a full role in society.
Talking during a press conference on Tuesday 9th September, Johnson claimed that the government will be piloting the approach in Salford from next month and that it hopes to have a widespread mass testing approach up and running by spring.
“Our plan – this moonshot that I am describing – will require a giant, collaborative effort from government, business, public health professionals, scientists, logistics experts and many, many more,” he said.
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However, with the government still struggling to meet its current – comparatively modest – testing targets, and the technology for rapid testing still at an early stage, scientists have questioned whether the moonshot testing plan – expected to cost £100bn – is realistic.
Dr David Strain, Clinical Senior Lecturer, University of Exeter and chair of the British Medical Association’s Medical Academic Staff Committee, said: “The mass testing strategy is fundamentally flawed, in that it is being based on technology that does not, as yet, exist. Existing technology has been demonstrated to miss up to 1/3rd of people who have COVID-19 in early disease. After a second test 48 hours later, we still miss over a quarter of people. It has been suggested that those who test negative are in some way less infective, but that is by no means certain. Mr Johnson’s assertion that we will be able to use this as a method to get people back to normal is rather premature.”
Indeed, during his briefing Johnson himself acknowledged that the technology and resources required to achieve this aren’t currently in place.
“There are a number of challenges,” he said. “We need the technology to work. We need to source the necessary materials to manufacture so many tests. We need to put in place an efficient distribution network. And we need to work through the numerous logistical challenges.”
Questioning the government’s ability to deliver such a project Dr Joshua Moon, research fellow in the Science Research Policy Unit (SPRU) at the University of Sussex Business School, said: “The current crisis in testing capacity just goes to show that the UK government’s assessments of testing capacity are not necessarily all that accurate. Given this, how can we even trust that this ‘moonshot’ will actually happen in practice?”
Moon added that the strategy itself is also flawed, as a negative test result doesn’t necessarily mean that an individual isn’t infectious.
“A negative result could be that the individual is truly negative and therefore not infectious, or it could be that the individual is infected but early in the incubation period so isn’t testing positive yet, or it could be that the test itself didn’t capture enough viral material on the swab or saliva to test positive. In only one of these cases should the person be moving around as normal.”
Others, however, are more confident that the government’s vision could be realised.
“Only a mass screening programme, such as this alternative plan announced by the prime minister, which involves the regular testing of all the population for asymptomatic transmitters, can keep COVID-19 under control and eventually lead to its eradication,” said Prof Jose Vazquez-Boland, Chair of Infectious Diseases, University of Edinburgh. “This can be achieved by effectively mobilising all locally available laboratories (research, academic, etc) across the country in a coordinated network.”
Untruths, U-Turns, making it up as they go along, policy based on pie in the sky …
Economy in tatters, Laws being broken, no idea what they are doing.
How much longer will the people and businesses of this country put up with this clown and his sycophants ?
Another Steve took the words out of my head! Great soundbite from the BoJo the clown. Yes it is necessary but will it be world beating? This should have been the plan back in March.
The staggering amounts of money being discussed to support this ill conceived gesture just beggar belief. it is being treated like Monopoly money or confetti. The whole position is completely out of control and seems to be characterised by one huge gesture statement or U-turn after another. And of course it is all a triumph and world beating. Rhubarb!
Perhaps it is the expenditure that will be world-beating, not the results?
I hate to say it,but BoJo & his cronies wouldn’t know how to manage a students washing up rota let alone a country. They’re staggering from one ridiculous statement to the next meanwhile folks are getting infected. How come Scotland has a working app,yet we’re waiting for this world beating track & trace,or even testing stations not required to drive miles to visit. Now he’s announced we’re getting testing due to become rapid to avoid workers being absent due to self-isolating (thus increasing the govt’s cash income)unnecessarily. He can’t seriously expect us to accept that their new “banner” on the lectern will allay anyone’s confusion of who can visit who in what number,where they can go on holiday & not require an extra 14 days off due to more self-isolation. Even staycationers are struggling,if they go Scotland do they risk fines as Scotland has implemented different rules there to England,or Wales might have differing rules to elsewhere. It’s pretty much looking like,we’re expected to know in advance what rules are in place or due to be implemented during the vacation. I’ll just continue to live life as I’ve done while the pandemic rages,as I’ve not contracted C-19 since Feb when all this lockdown garbage was mooted.
Operation Bullsh*t is all about moving the agenda on, not solving a problem. Whenever something comes up that questions the ‘government’, some world-beating quote is supplied to the media. If Johnson had applied the same amount of energy to test, track and trace in the first place and not skipped 5 COBRA meetings (only called because there was an emergency) then perhaps we may be in a better place, some of the 60,000 would not have died and at least the same number will not have to live with life changing illnesses. But no, our ‘Prime Minister’ comes up with yet another headline grabber because feel-good rather than do-good is all he cares about. And of course shovelling shed loads of tax payers’ money to dodgy organsisations which will most likely fail. I hope I am wrong but experience suggests otherwise.
Meanwhile good health and care workers, scientists and engineers are working 24 hour days to move us on with this dreadful pandemic, some losing their lives, while our lazy and dim leader hides in a tent. Or somewhere. At least he had a holiday. Another one. Most of us have been confined to our homes with no opportunity to test our eyesight.
I saw the article title and was about to write a “disgusted of Tunbridge Wells” type letter as I thought that The Engineer had fallen into the “Experts say” or “Scientists say” format so beloved of the pop press. Fortunately, the experts are identified and their skills listed, so it is only the issues to deal with. Seeing the earlier correspondence, the government seems not well regarded, but I think that a lot of the problem has been the issue of public information and the government being unwilling to tell people how little they understood Covid, testing, protection etc. The UK’s mess is not a lot different from most of the infected countries.
There is a technology in Finland to make 2€ test in 2 minutes. You just blow to the tester few times. That would make this possible.
I think a few of the posters should read Teddy Roosevelt’s Credo. As Engineers, we all have goals, and often it takes several goes and failures to achieve them. I’m not a great BoJo fan, but it is easy to judge in retrospect and I don’t think any of the other politicians would be doing any better at this point.