WEBVTT - Testing Not Enough to Stop Coronavirus

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<v Speaker 1>It's Thursday, October fift I'm Oscar Ramiraz from the Daily

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<v Speaker 1>Dive podcast in Los Angeles, and this is reopening America.

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<v Speaker 1>There was this time early in the pandemic where employers

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<v Speaker 1>thought they would be relying on rapid response tests to

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<v Speaker 1>get employees back to work safely. But as we have

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<v Speaker 1>seen with recent events, testing alone won't stop the spread

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<v Speaker 1>of COVID nineteen. These tests were not designed to be

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<v Speaker 1>used this way, and there's only one part of a

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<v Speaker 1>full response plan. Arian Marshall, staff writer at Wired, joins

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<v Speaker 1>us for how and when tests should be used for

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<v Speaker 1>returning to work. Thanks for joining us, Sorry on, thanks

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<v Speaker 1>for having me. I wanted to talk about testing for

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<v Speaker 1>employers and at the workplace for some time early in

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<v Speaker 1>the pandemic, a lot of people were writing it up

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<v Speaker 1>as testing is going to be the main thing to

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<v Speaker 1>get people back to work. You know, you get your tests,

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<v Speaker 1>make sure you're testing negative, you don't have coronavirus, get

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<v Speaker 1>to work and you're good. And we're all kind of

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<v Speaker 1>waiting for these rapid tests to come on board and

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<v Speaker 1>start being a little cheaper so more people can use them. Well,

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<v Speaker 1>a lot of employers that are relying on these rapid tests.

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<v Speaker 1>Now are kind of rethinking it, and the obviously the

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<v Speaker 1>White House is an example of why that might not work.

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<v Speaker 1>The White House is relying on a lot of rapid

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<v Speaker 1>tests to get to business as usual in people being

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<v Speaker 1>around the president, and now we're seeing a bunch of

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<v Speaker 1>cases there. So Arianna tell us a little bit about

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<v Speaker 1>these rapid tests, tell us about the nuances of how

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<v Speaker 1>these tests should be used and how they should be

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<v Speaker 1>used for for workers to get back to it. It's

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<v Speaker 1>a really difficult problem. I think you're right. In the

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<v Speaker 1>beginning of the pandemic, it felt like, well, if we

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<v Speaker 1>could only get enough tests for everyone, then everything would

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<v Speaker 1>be solved. We can go back to work, we can

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<v Speaker 1>go back to school, life continue as normal. But it's

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<v Speaker 1>become apparent as the pandemic has gone on that a

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<v Speaker 1>lot of tests, in particularly these rapid tests that are

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<v Speaker 1>cheaper and that are quicker, aren't totally totally accurate. You

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<v Speaker 1>sometimes get false positives and you also sometimes get false negatives.

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<v Speaker 1>And the reason that's so bad and so scary is

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<v Speaker 1>because it means that you could test negative, and you

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<v Speaker 1>know what, workplace could say, oh okay, you don't have

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<v Speaker 1>the coronavirus come on in, take off your mask. Let's

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<v Speaker 1>pretend this pandemic isn't happening outside, and we'll continue our lives,

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<v Speaker 1>when in fact you could be asymptomatic and could be

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<v Speaker 1>able to give the coronavirus to your coworkers. And that's

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<v Speaker 1>such a scary proposition for people that now going forward,

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<v Speaker 1>a lot of the really smart workplaces are saying, Okay, yeah,

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<v Speaker 1>we may offer tests, but it's also really important that

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<v Speaker 1>even if you test negative on those tests, you still

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<v Speaker 1>wear a mask and you still do social distancings. We

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<v Speaker 1>try to do everything possible to cut down the risk

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<v Speaker 1>for workers and for people just trying to live their lives.

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<v Speaker 1>And these rapid tests in particular aren't really designed to

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<v Speaker 1>catch asymptomatic cases of the virus. Those are a little

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<v Speaker 1>more tricker. That's why you want these PCR tests, the

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<v Speaker 1>ones that go down to a lab and are analyzed

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<v Speaker 1>completely for any traces of the virus. So that's the

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<v Speaker 1>other part of it is that these tests aren't designed

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<v Speaker 1>for that. It's a tool in a suite of things

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<v Speaker 1>to be used. Yeah. Absolutely, that's actually one of the

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<v Speaker 1>sort of more frightening things about the way the White

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<v Speaker 1>House in particular was using this test. They were using

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<v Speaker 1>it reportedly, according to The New York Times and others,

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<v Speaker 1>they were saying, hey, if you come and take this

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<v Speaker 1>test and you have a negative result, you can interact

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<v Speaker 1>with people like the President at close range without a mask.

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<v Speaker 1>But actually the Trump administration's own Emergency Youth Authorization for

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<v Speaker 1>some of these more recent rapid tests, which came out

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<v Speaker 1>as recently as August, so that they were for use

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<v Speaker 1>particularly for people with symptoms. So if you are asymptomatic

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<v Speaker 1>and you get a negative on this test, it doesn't

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<v Speaker 1>mean you don't have coronavirus. So it's really tricky. One

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<v Speaker 1>of the interesting things that you found out in writing

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<v Speaker 1>your article, though, is that testing does make people feel better.

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<v Speaker 1>It's an important thing. I'm not trying to diminish taking

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<v Speaker 1>these tests, even the rapid test. It's got to be

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<v Speaker 1>used in conjunction with a lot of things. But it

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<v Speaker 1>does make people feel better knowing that somebody has tested negative.

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<v Speaker 1>At least you're not uncomfortable, let's say, working around others.

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<v Speaker 1>And it's a hard thing for employers as a result,

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<v Speaker 1>because they have employees say hey, it would really make

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<v Speaker 1>me feel a lot better if everyone got tests to

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<v Speaker 1>come back to the workplace. So employers are saying, okay, well,

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<v Speaker 1>pony up for these if they make you feel better.

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<v Speaker 1>But everyone should understand again that just because you've taken

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<v Speaker 1>a test, even the more accurate tests, the tests that

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<v Speaker 1>take a longer time, those PCR tests, and it says

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<v Speaker 1>you're negative, that just means that in that very exact moment,

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<v Speaker 1>you don't have coronavirus. But it could be that you

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<v Speaker 1>step into an elevator, you go into a grocery store,

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<v Speaker 1>do something else, interact with other people, and then get it,

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<v Speaker 1>you know, the very next hour. So it's hard. You

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<v Speaker 1>did speak to a couple of businesses and a couple

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<v Speaker 1>of people who offer guidance to businesses also on opening

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<v Speaker 1>up their workplaces. What do they say about these rapid

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<v Speaker 1>tests and really how employers should be getting back to work.

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<v Speaker 1>A lot of them are just like everyone else, working

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<v Speaker 1>through the realities of living with this new virus that

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<v Speaker 1>we've never seen before. And there's still so many open

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<v Speaker 1>questions about how this virus works that you know, they're

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<v Speaker 1>also having trouble, so they are getting new guidance from

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<v Speaker 1>the CDC all the time. About the best ways to

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<v Speaker 1>open up their workplace in a safe way. So the

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<v Speaker 1>way these law firms and testing companies are advising employers

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<v Speaker 1>is they're saying, hey, these are some important caveats when

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<v Speaker 1>using these tests. That these are also why that they

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<v Speaker 1>might be valuable for you. But again keep in mind

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<v Speaker 1>that just having the test isn't going to make you safe.

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<v Speaker 1>If you can in your workplace, please take all the

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<v Speaker 1>possible precautions that are also offered by the CDC and

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<v Speaker 1>other government authorities. Yeah, and as you mentioned, the guidance

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<v Speaker 1>is always changing. Just last month, the CDC recommended against

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<v Speaker 1>these test based strategies. You know, you've got to use

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<v Speaker 1>all the tools that you have, so it is constantly

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<v Speaker 1>a changing thing. Arian Marshall, staff writer at Wired. Thank

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<v Speaker 1>you very much for joining us. Thanks for having me.

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<v Speaker 1>I'm Oscar Ramirez and this has been reopening America. Don't

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<v Speaker 1>forget the effort. Today's big news stories. You can check

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<v Speaker 1>me out on the Daily Dive podcast every Monday to Friday,

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<v Speaker 1>So follow us on I Heart Radio or wherever you

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