AMart
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- Dec 29, 2020
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Last week, in the first of a series of special reports probing the science that has underpinned our pandemic response, The Mail on Sunday set about tackling the ongoing concerns that tests used to diagnose Covid were picking up people who were not actually infected.
The conclusion of some scientists was, yes, they did. And there were those who maintained that despite shortcomings, PCR swabs – used by millions – were accurate enough.
Yet one study suggested that as many as a third of all positive cases may not have been infectious at the time they took the test.
It not only means the true scale of the pandemic could have been distorted, but also that many people may have been forced to self-isolate unnecessarily.
Equally concerning is the idea that the UK’s stark and terrifying death figures – which were broadcast daily – were misleading and even overblown.
And today we will try to uncover the truth, or get as close as we can.
Another step forward in understanding comes from new analysis from scientists at the University of Oxford and charity Collateral Global, shared exclusively with this newspaper.
The group combed through 800 responses to Freedom of Information requests made by members of the public to medical institutions such as care homes and hospital trusts, and found fundamental flaws in way Covid fatalities were recorded.
In total, 14 different terms were used to describe a person who had died with Covid – including ‘underlying Covid’, ‘due to Covid’, ‘involving Covid’ and ‘died within either 28 or 60 days of a positive test’.
Some hospital trusts required a positive test to certify a Covid death, while others didn’t.
Most shockingly, in care homes, deaths were certified by doctors making their inspection via a video call – and this was permitted due to emergency guidance introduced in April 2020.
The experts say this, coupled with the lack of testing in care homes, means it is likely that assumptions were made and Covid was wrongly attributed as the cause of death.
Does this mean the Covid death figure is an over-count? There is no way of knowing for certain – which the Oxford group suggests is far from ideal.
www.dailymail.co.uk
The conclusion of some scientists was, yes, they did. And there were those who maintained that despite shortcomings, PCR swabs – used by millions – were accurate enough.
Yet one study suggested that as many as a third of all positive cases may not have been infectious at the time they took the test.
It not only means the true scale of the pandemic could have been distorted, but also that many people may have been forced to self-isolate unnecessarily.
Equally concerning is the idea that the UK’s stark and terrifying death figures – which were broadcast daily – were misleading and even overblown.
And today we will try to uncover the truth, or get as close as we can.
Another step forward in understanding comes from new analysis from scientists at the University of Oxford and charity Collateral Global, shared exclusively with this newspaper.
The group combed through 800 responses to Freedom of Information requests made by members of the public to medical institutions such as care homes and hospital trusts, and found fundamental flaws in way Covid fatalities were recorded.
In total, 14 different terms were used to describe a person who had died with Covid – including ‘underlying Covid’, ‘due to Covid’, ‘involving Covid’ and ‘died within either 28 or 60 days of a positive test’.
Some hospital trusts required a positive test to certify a Covid death, while others didn’t.
Most shockingly, in care homes, deaths were certified by doctors making their inspection via a video call – and this was permitted due to emergency guidance introduced in April 2020.
The experts say this, coupled with the lack of testing in care homes, means it is likely that assumptions were made and Covid was wrongly attributed as the cause of death.
Does this mean the Covid death figure is an over-count? There is no way of knowing for certain – which the Oxford group suggests is far from ideal.
Thousands of deaths could have been WRONGLY blamed on Covid
Disturbing stories emerged from bereaved relatives of terminally ill patients who died from the disease they'd battled, only to be posthumously labelled Covid victims during the pandemic.
