COVID, ~
I am beginning to wonder if the rapid tests are weighed towards false negatives over false positives, given that the latter hurts the """economy"""
But, that's five down, all negative. Whatever I got, it's most likely not that (thank God.)
Still feel run down, sadly, but I feel a bit better? One moment of fatigue that lasted half an hour aside.
re: COVID, ~
@noiob I feel they should be weighed towards encouraging people to stay home, to err on the side of caution. But what's the reasoning?
re: COVID, ~
@SkunkyLass it's just how the technology works, if you get enough of the virus on the antigens they trigger, if you don't they don't
re: COVID, ~
@noiob gotcha. I guess, since I got a stack of ten, I can play the odds and not depend on just the one.
re: COVID, ~
@SkunkyLass it helps to get a throat swab as well
re: COVID, ~
@noiob @SkunkyLass throat swab helps. theres also a hypothesis that its evolving to carry more rna copies in a single virion, which reduces the infectious dose (fewer virions than delta are required to create an infection)
more rna copies packed into each virion, fewer virions needed to start an infection, resulting in a viral load too low for rats to detect.
super granular, sorry 
COVID, ~
From what I understand about our over the counter rapid tests, they almost never have false positives, but false negatives tend to be common. However, the false negatives tend to be due to testing early in the infectious period - That is to say, before symptoms really manifest. Mostly because it's hard to harvest detectable levels of the viral proteins the tests analyze for when you're not actually suffering much from the virus (Sidenote: Lab based PRC tests amplify even small quantities of those proteins, so they're much more sensitive).
That's a longwinded way to say: If you've taken five tests over multiple days, the chances are low for a false negative.
That being said, whatever it is that's making you feel ill, I certainly hope it passes quickly, and that you're back on your feet soon. And I'm sorry that you've been suffering as you have. If there's anything I can do, please let me know <3
re: COVID, ~
@Phorm I appreciate it, Phorm, this is very clearly explained and very helpful. 🙂
I'm feeling better now, and the upcoming holiday should hopefully help!
re: COVID, ~
@SkunkyLass they are (but not for economy reasons)