Rapid lateral flow Covid tests No10 is using are too inaccurate, scientist warns

Professor Jon Deeks, a biostatistician from the University of Birmingham, accused the Government of making lateral flow tests seem 'better than they are' Boris Johnson's extortionate Operation Moonshot mass-swabbing scheme could accelerate Covid's spread because the tests are so inaccurate, a top expert has warned. They are: SD Biosensor Standard Q Antigen Test Manufacturer: SD Biosensor When tested: August Claimed accuracy: 95.5% Real-world accuracy: Thought to be around 70% - source Price: Unknown SD Biosensor's rapid coronavirus test Innova Antigen Test Manufacturer: Innova Medical When tested: August Claimed accuracy: 99% Real-world accuracy: 'At least 50 per cent', according to Dept Health Price: £8.69 per test Innova's rapid coronavirus test Healgen Rapid Covid-19 Antigen Test Manufacturer: Healgen When tested: September Claimed accuracy: 97.3% Real-world accuracy: Unknown Price: Unknown Healgen's rapid coronavirus test SureScreen COVID-19 Coronavirus Rapid Antigen Test Cassette Manufacturer: Surescreen When tested: December Claimed accuracy: 98% Real-world accuracy: Unknown Price: Unknown Surescreen's Coronavirus Rapid Antibody Test Cassette 'But here a positive means "probably" and a negative means "we really can't tell". SELF-TESTING CUT ACCURACY FROM 79% TO 58% A University of Oxford and Public Health England evaluation of the Innova lateral flow test, which is being widely used in the UK, found its sensitivity - the proportion of positive cases it detected - fell from 79 per cent to 58 per cent when it was used by untrained members of the public instead of lab experts. PILOT IN LIVERPOOL FOUND FEWER THAN HALF OF POSITIVES When the same Innova test was trialled on members of the public in Liverpool - with people taking their own swabs and trained military staff operating the tests - the swabs picked up just 40 per cent of positive cases. The study didn't compare this to professionally done rapid tests, but the manufacturer Innova claims its test is 95 per cent sensitive in lab conditions..BUT TESTING DONE BY MEDICS IN SLOVAKIA 'REDUCED INFECTIONS' Despite rapid lateral flow tests getting bad press, officials in Slovakia used them on 5.2million people - almost the entire population of 5.5m - in a trial that a study later estimated to have cut the country's infection rate by 60 per cent.