MESSAGE
DATE | 2020-11-20 |
FROM | Ruben Safir
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SUBJECT | Subject: [Hangout - NYLXS] COVID-19 Test kit problems
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Fearing false positives, hospitals scrap Sofia COVID-19 testing kits
jpost.com
Fearing false positives, hospitals scrap Sofia COVID-19 testing kits
By SARAH BEN-NUN NOVEMBER 20, 2020 03:26
4-5 minutes
"This goes against the most basic of medicals tenets – do no harm," said
one of the hospital directors.
Rapid Sofia coronavirus test device in action (photo credit: SOFIA ISRAEL)
Rapid Sofia coronavirus test device in action
(photo credit: SOFIA ISRAEL)
Clalit hospitals will stop using the Sofia rapid coronavirus testing
kits, suspecting tens of false positives, N12 reported Thursday night.
What this means for those who tested positive but didn't actually have
COVID-19, is that they ended up in the various hospitals' coronavirus
wards, exposed to actual patients.
So far, the Meir Medical Center, Kfar Saba has completely terminated
their use of the testing kits, with Soroka-University Medical Center,
Beersheba close behind. Schneider Children’s Medical Center for Israel,
Petah Tikva and Carmel Medical Center, Haifa have both not yet even
begun using them.
"The thought that tens of Israelis mistakenly tested positive and sent
to coronavirus wards in hospitals, effectively ensuring their ultimate
exposure and infection – that thought is chilling and horrifying," said
a director of one of the hospitals that is working to discontinue their
use of the kits.
Sofia's pioneering technology is what sets it apart: test results in 15
minutes. The kits have been approved by the FDA and the Health Ministry.
"This goes against the most basic of medicals tenets – do no harm," the
hospital director added.
"Sofia is an important technological development that was already
approved by the FDA and the Health Ministry," stated Sofia Israel.
"Globally, the reaction to the intelligent software that provides
results instantaneously has been overall positive. Only in Israel are
there forces that are having a hard time incorporating new
technologies," the company noted.
Israel received a shipment of 70 new Sofia testing kits earlier this
month, as part of a plan for Israel to secure 300 of them from the San
Diego-based company Quidel.
Sofia Israel has a logistical center in Modi'in Ilit, where the shipment
was sent to be distributed to various institutions throughout the
country, including medical clinics and health funds.
Added the hospital director, "I cannot begin to understand how, even
with data confirming that the tests produce false positives, these kits
are the what's ensuring Eilat's green status."
On Wednesday, November 18, Sheba Medical Center, Tel Hashomer, announced
that they have medical teams receiving training in operating the Sofia
rapid testing machines.
The machines were to be set up at stations along the road to Eilat, to
rapidly test individuals before they enter the city.
Already in October, when the kits were brought to Israel, health
professionals expressed their concerns over the accuracy of the tests.
While Sofia reported a 96.7% success rate, a lab workers association had
it at about 84%.
"Hospitals that aren't interested in the technology are welcome to pass
it on to old age homes. They need it," concluded Sofia Israel.
--
So many immigrant groups have swept through our town
that Brooklyn, like Atlantis, reaches mythological
proportions in the mind of the world - RI Safir 1998
http://www.mrbrklyn.com
DRM is THEFT - We are the STAKEHOLDERS - RI Safir 2002
http://www.nylxs.com - Leadership Development in Free Software
http://www.brooklyn-living.com
Being so tracked is for FARM ANIMALS and extermination camps,
but incompatible with living as a free human being. -RI Safir 2013
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