Experts are calling on the UK government to halt or pause its mass testing programme for people without symptoms in care homes, schools, communities and potentially at home, warning that the lateral flow devices it has bought are inaccurate and can do more harm than good. “The UK government is widening the rollout of the Innova lateral flow test without supporting evidence, and we understand that this may soon extend to further home use,” they write in the BMJ. We call on the government urgently to change course.”The lateral flow tests were used in Liverpool’s mass testing exercise and failed to pick up 60% of Covid infections, they say. They are concerned that people who have a negative test will presume they are safe to get involved in activities with others or visit vulnerable and elderly people. A Department of Health and Social Care spokesperson said: “Lateral flow devices (LFDs) used by the UK government go through a rigorous evaluation by the country’s leading scientists.

Source: The Guardian January 12, 2021 14:55 UTC