Dr. Arshed Iqbal Dar
When testing procedure turn out to be a donnybrook, detoxifying factors develop into toxic ones, professional medicos turn into patients, health transmutes to filth and the strategy to preclude such problems is shrouded in obscurity, under such conditions the level of physical, mental, social and economic trauma is bound to shoot up.The result of covid tests of similar individuals in two different laboratories of Jammu and Kashmir seems to be neither above the surface of water nor below the surface of water but the shock wave of variation in the tests has blown away the case of covid-19 pandemic out of water to some extent. A new tag was given to these testing laboratories by the people in general and that is a corona laboratory and a non-corona laboratory. This corona and no-corona has triggered the formation of goosebumps, gloomy outlook and a sense of discouragement among the citizens. Dozens of people have registered their complaints against the authenticity of covid-19 test, amongst them a senior journalist, who was tested positive for Covid-19 at Chest Disease hospital cross checked his test at SKIMS Soura and to his utter surprise, the result was totally in opposition to the CD hospital. In this backdrop, let’s play testing testing is a new game of criticism to the department of health in general, In one episode, health workers on 9th of June visited xyz area for a covid survey and when they reached at the heart of village and to their surprise, the people of the said area raised slogans “testing testing boycott testing” and now the cartoonists are drawing cartoons of ‘plus minus game’ with a CD hospital and SKIMS as its two opponents. After the confirmation of error in tests and from the very next day, when the daily report card was making rounds on social networking sites, heated arguments from the different sections of society was visible and majority of the people were commenting against the authenticity of reports. People were commenting, if you cross check these samples, they will show different results in different laboratories.
We are in the midst of the clouds of despair and the illogical and shrouded mantra to beat this virus is intensifying the clouds of despondency and dire need is to revisit the strategy to disappear this cloud of despair.
In this context, I posed a question in WHO briefing live show, why this variation in the test results? and does it mean, that everyone, who is covid positive or negative has to test once again but in a different laboratory from the previous one? One of the live members from University of Lowa (United States) namely Susan T Haney, Emergency Physician responded, it is just because of limitation of tests vs sampling error. In order to kick the bump of these goosebumps and to develop a sense of encouragement among the masses in general, the laboratories which are performing tests for covid 19 should be assessed for quality control by using different models and one of the suggestions is to randomly select the samples from these laboratories and then send these samples to some other authenticated virology laboratories for reconfirmation. The systematic errors or the random errors in the tests is not a novel concept but to minimize such errors to justify who is covid positive and who is covid negative is demanding the use of novel models. In this regard, a lot of suggestions can be collected from different experts in this field to rectify the error. Otherwise, the ball is neither in the court of CD hospital nor in the court of SKIMS but is blowing hot and cold. If we talk about to live with the virus, nations bearing the brunt of their past mistakes should adopt the models of those nations who have flattened the curve of covid-19 pandemic. Being a student of biological sciences, I do believe in the world of invisible creatures who are part of this interconnected system, I do believe in Science and Technology who has justified the world of microbes, I do believe in the development of novel vaccine candidates for curing many disorders and I do believe, the very future of our society and the strength of our economy is dependent on the innovations and discoveries. But this time, we are in the midst of the clouds of despair and the illogical and shrouded mantra to beat this virus is intensifying the clouds of despondency and dire need is to revisit the strategy to disappear this cloud of despair.
( The author is Assistant Professor at Govt. Degree College Sumbal Sonawari. . Views are his own, [email protected])
