The pandemic would have been worse without self-screening tests, the analysis concluded

Without self-screening during the crisis, the COVID-19 pandemic would have been worse, a McGill University researcher has concluded.

Rapid tests have been effective in identifying people who are at both ends of the disease: those who are not sick and those who are contagious.

This helped stop the spread of the virus and limit the scale of the crisis.

“If they weren't available and people weren't using them, I think we'd have a lot more closures and lockdowns,” said McGill University researcher and author Dr. Nitika Pant Pai.

According to Pai, the tests, while seemingly innocuous, were a tool to combat the pandemic.

“Without testing, schools wouldn't be able to function and jobs would often be closed.”

The study compiles a systematic review and meta-analysis of 70 studies with data from 25 countries that evaluated the diagnostic accuracy of rapid COVID-19 tests.

Researchers have found that they are very effective at identifying healthy and symptomatic people, but they are less reliable at identifying asymptomatic infected people.

They also found that the public is highly interested in self-screening testing, but less interested in routine or repeat testing.

According to Pai, the rapid testing has reduced the number of school closures, reduced the number of missed work days, slowed transmission between healthcare workers and allowed for the continuation of social activities with low risk of infection.

Research has shown that pre-training sessions, detailed instructions for self-testing in everyday language, and test kits specifically designed for low-literacy and older adults can improve test performance and daily use.

Dr. Pant Pai says these findings have lessons for the future.

“Public health agencies and governments should not hesitate to invest in accurate, rapid, portable and digitally enhanced self-testing strategies, such as apps, websites and video guidance, not only for respiratory viruses but also for non-respiratory pathogens.”

He went on to explain that history will repeat itself and that another respiratory pandemic is highly likely.

“Everyone is suffering from post-traumatic stress due to the pandemic and we are not interested in understanding the lessons we need to learn. But if we don't learn the right lesson, we will start from scratch.”

This report from La Presse Canadienne was translated by CityNews.