Buying antigen tests

They're not very accurate at all. My partner took 4 - all negative before a positive PCR. Her brother tested positive and decided to do two of the ones that the HSE sent him just to see. Both negative.

What antigen test did you use?

PCR and Antigen do different things.

Antigen tests detect Infectious people by detecting material from the surface proteins of the virus and are extremely accurate when an individual is actually infectious.

PCRs detect genetic material of the virus which can be present in the body for weeks after someone is capable of passing it on.

You can be PCR positive and non infectious thus given a negative Antigen test.

PCRs will have kept many perfectly healthy, non infectious people at home in isolation !

Nphet have finally relented to science and now back antigen testing, but in the two years fighting science they have severely undermined public trust in them. Philip Nolan should should hang his head in shame.

it’s now looking like Ireland is going to follow the rest of the eu and subsidise antigen testing, by offering discounted tests at pharmacies.

Antigen testing has a place now because most people are vaccinated (and symptom-less) and more people are out interacting.

Previously they didn't want people to do antigen tests because, from a macro point of view - it was irrelevant. You were supposed to go for a PCR test if you had symptoms due to it being more accurate. If you were a responsible adult, then if you had an antigen test you would isolate anyway until the PCR result. If you were irresponsible, you could make a bollox of the test, get a false negative reading and head out spreading it through a largely unvaccinated population. So there was no positive outcome from using antigen. Whereas now, the antigen tests can be used to quickly test large numbers of people who don't even have symptoms.

Since yesterday's news about antigen tests, did prices fall today in chemists and shops? Pack of 5 in the chemist for 30euro. But don't know should I wait and see if they get cheaper.

No, the snake oil comment from Nolan came in response to a Lidl tweet saying come and get your supplies for your barbecue, and if you’re going to be socialising outdoors, pick up an antigen test to test yourself for extra piece of mind. All very responsible. They never once suggested it was to be used for symptomatic people in the place of a PCR test.

Now NPHET are suggesting if you’re going to be socialising, do regular antigen tests so as not to be spreading the virus asymptomatically... exactly what the Lidl tweet suggested and Nolan flipped the lid over it!! There is absolutely no condoning what he said now in light of the new antigen testing advice from NPHET.

I know exactly what it means, thanks. And it was completely irresponsible of Philip Nolan to use it in that context. In fact, his comments were so bizarre, I’d question if he knows what it means.

I’m not the one who brought it up. Philip Nolan should explain though what has changed since he made his comment.

Why are antigen tests so expensive? Are they not similar to pregnancy tests? So it's not new technologies in these home tests. A quick Google leads me to an online shop where you can buy 15 pregnancy test strips for 8 euro.

I'm not paying 20 or 30 euro for antigen tests where you might have to use them every week during the winter.

I was correcting Donald Trump’s incorrect version of events above.

Well his tweet needs to be taken in the context of both the time he said it, and what he was referring to. At the time there were still a lot of restrictions and the tone of the ad for the supermarket was kind of "sure get this test and then you can go and do what you like and congregate as much as you like- oh, and btw we have loads of barbeque stuff for sale wink wink". So that was the context of his comment - that it wasn't a magic solution that you could buy this thing and then go and ignore all other advice and be back to normal

antigen definitely does have a place now - for testing people without symptoms to detect possible asymptomatic carriers.

My sis in law lives in London, she just calls a special phone line and gets a pack of 5 posted which arrive the following day, FREE. You can call whenever you need them. I pay my taxes, worked throughout COVID and get no break ever from my tax so I won’t be paying for them out of my own pocket. If they want them to be used, they should be free, that could be one of the reasons their hesitant on suggesting everyone should use them.