Check out: Free Walk Up COVID-19 Testing in Harker Heights August 6

https://ktemnews.com/free-walk-up-covid-19-testing-in-harker-heights-august-6/

If you have anyone interested in being tested.

Interesting.


I'm more interested in an antibodies test. Just our of curiosity more than anything else.

agsalaska said:

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Interesting.


I'm more interested in an antibodies test. Just our of curiosity more than anything else.

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exactly what i was going to say. we've yet to show a single symptom of covid, but our whole family got hammered in early March with flu like symptoms for about a week and a half.

i'd love to know if that was it, or if we've had it and been asymptomatic.

figured i'd bump.


nothing too exciting one way or another in Bell county. 3 more souls unfortunately lost this week, all older citizens.

https://www.tdtnews.com/news/coronavirus/article_ecde2080-e7dd-11ea-9950-b396f35f6d63.html

TDT is saying that our infection rate is still at 10%, but also saying that we've only added 34 cases on Tuesday... that screams to me that we're not administering near as many tests?

https://kdhnews.com/news/coronavirus/mobile-testing-in-killeen-this-weekend/article_d0f11a28-e7a4-11ea-ab6c-4778c955d0f8.html

And I had read Premier has started testing again.

mazzag said:

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https://kdhnews.com/news/coronavirus/mobile-testing-in-killeen-this-weekend/article_d0f11a28-e7a4-11ea-ab6c-4778c955d0f8.html

And I had read Premier has started testing again.

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This is correct.

mazzag said:

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And how the heck is our infection rate at 10%? TDT is either stupid or willingly misleading folks. That would mean we have over 30k positives. I thought it's just over 3k?

Ok. Just scanned the article. That is misleading. 10% OF THOSE TESTED have been positive. Not 10% of county residents. I'm glad TDT has banned me from Facebook replies.

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I don't believe the term "positivity rate" is a TDT defined metric; I've seen it on multiple news outlets as being the percentage of positive results from the same day's overall tests.

Positivity rate is the percentage of positive tests in those tested. It has been noted over and over that it is inversely proportional to the number of tests performed. That is, as you test more, the positivity rate goes down. If you test less (only the sicker people), the rate goes up. Makes sense, right? When they start harping on the positivity rate, they are essentially using a meaningless statistic.

It's not meaningless. It just needs to be interpreted with total cases to make sense.

The reason why positive test percentage is important to public health officials is because it indicates whether there a community has sufficient testing to track the spread. In Bell County, where we have cases trending downward but positive percentage of tests trending upward, that would indicate there are too many positive cases that are not being tested. Texas did 38k tests yesterday down from 58-62k daily from mid July-mid August. So that leads public health officials to assume that unless the percentage of positive tests remains the same, we aren't doing enough testing.

BohunkAg said:

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Positivity rate is the percentage of positive tests in those tested. It has been noted over and over that it is inversely proportional to the number of tests performed. That is, as you test more, the positivity rate goes down. If you test less (only the sicker people), the rate goes up. Makes sense, right? When they start harping on the positivity rate, they are essentially using a meaningless statistic.

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Expanding on what templeton said above, I read that it gives health professionals an indication of how widespread infection is in a certain area. Johns Hopkins has an article on this subject: Understanding the percent positive

mazzag, nothing came through in your post.

templeton said:

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It's not meaningless. It just needs to be interpreted with total cases to make sense.

The reason why positive test percentage is important to public health officials is because it indicates whether there a community has sufficient testing to track the spread. In Bell County, where we have cases trending downward but positive percentage of tests trending upward, that would indicate there are too many positive cases that are not being tested. Texas did 38k tests yesterday down from 58-62k daily from mid July-mid August. So that leads public health officials to assume that unless the percentage of positive tests remains the same, we aren't doing enough testing.

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In Houston, the percent positive has been almost exactly inversely proportional to the amount of testing done. I don't think you can say with any certainty at all that "there are cases out there we don't know about," when every time you start testing more, the positivity rate starts going down. Also in Houston it's not like the number of cases has been going up and down as testing has fluctuated.




And OK, there's a Johns Hopkins article out there. People with boots on the ground are telling me otherwise.

From the Hopkins piece:

Quote:

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Simply put, there are two ways to lower the percent positive: Reduce the amount of coronavirus transmission or increase the number of people who get tested.

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This is patently ridiculous. I'm a statistics guy. You are admitting here that positivity rate is a statistic we should not be making decisions based on. If "more testing" is all it takes to manipulate the number down, then when haven't actually done anything to change the spread of the virus.

So if cases are truly down and testing is down, why is percentage of positive of tests going up? These are the questions epidemiologists are asking.

Changes in test availability or protocol can affect this percentage obviously, but testing is more widely available right now than at any point in the pandemic.

Do you see what I mean? They would have a lot more confidence in these lower case numbers if the number of tests (or the percentage positive rate) had remained constant.

I know first-hand that percentage positive rate is not a primary metric for Bell County health authorities, but to say it's meaningless is nonsense.

templeton said:

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So if cases are truly down and testing is down, why is percentage of positive of tests going up? These are the questions epidemiologists are asking.

Changes in test availability or protocol can affect this percentage obviously, but testing is more widely available right now than at any point in the pandemic.

Do you see what I mean? They would have a lot more confidence in these lower case numbers if the number of tests (or the percentage positive rate) had remained constant.

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I think that's valid. I think less people are taking tests due to the CDC saying testing needs to be reserved for symptomatic people and fatigue.

March-June I knew maybe 4-5 people that tested. In July I knew dozens upon dozens that had tested and a few positives. No negative outcomes or seriously sick people among my circle My wife tested due to hugging a positive case teenager. Was negative.

I'd wager that testing in general is down due to fatigue with the virus as well as CDC's recommendations to limit testing to symptomatic people. I wouldn't say that keeping the rate at 10% is good or bad but that if we're staying steady at 10% w lower tests numbers then we have less people showing symptoms wanting a test?

Not arguing for one side or another, just exploring the why.

I wouldn't voluntarily test. I've had friends and family test due to exposure or fever. All negative. The one with fever found out it's cancer. **** CANCER.
The most common symptoms I've had were back in March during the SIP. I won't anti body test although I'm very curious. I do have a plan in my household if our 17yr old gets it. We have 2 AC's so she'll sleep in a different shared vent from my husband. He's the bread winner...
I will share that since the SIP has been lifted we've done so many "high risk" activities. Had parties CHECK. been to the dentist, nail salons, eye dr, etc CHECK. Spent a long weekend in Shreveport gambling CHECK. Next is Vegas this fall. Whether we drive or fly is a different story. Hubs is a yuge anti mask advocate.

Seems like a lot of the restrictions have gone away in Temple Belton. I only wear a mask now into corporate stores. Ate lunch last weekend in downtown Belton and went to the bowling alley last night with a bunch of kids. Spare Time. We had to wear masks in the front door but that was about it.

Seems like the close I get to Austin the more incessant on masks they become. Round Rock today was pretty serious about it.

Friends from Austin were in town for a benefit at the winery past moffat. One was floored she didn't have to wear a mask to and from the rest room. Heck, in Austin restaurants you have to slip them back on every time staff comes to your table. I really hope my stepson moves outta there. Especially with the decline in APD budgets.

Yea the closer you get to Austin the more insane it becomes. Other than soccer and baseball tournaments, which are still mostly in the outskirts/suburbs, I will not go to a big city right now. No freaking way. We go straight in, play the games, and straight back. Once we pass 130/35 I feel a lot better.

agsalaska said:

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Seems like the close I get to Austin the more incessant on masks they become.

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I wonder if that's why Williamson and Travis counties have better infection rates?

I don't know about better, but definitely more positive cases and deaths. Especially in Travis county.

did you know that Travis County has more people than Bell County?

So does Bexar Co. And Harris Co.

Travis County has 1.2 million people and a bit over 22k positives. Bell has about a 4th of the population and a bit over 4K positives. Seems about the same percentage for each county. That's just the math off the top of my head. But by all means wearing a mask while a waiter delivers your food will save lives.

templeton said:

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So if cases are truly down and testing is down, why is percentage of positive of tests going up? These are the questions epidemiologists are asking.

Changes in test availability or protocol can affect this percentage obviously, but testing is more widely available right now than at any point in the pandemic.

Do you see what I mean? They would have a lot more confidence in these lower case numbers if the number of tests (or the percentage positive rate) had remained constant.

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Yes and no. Premier is back to limited testing only.

Also, people just aren't willing to get tested if they aren't feeling bad. Unless you can compel widespread testing of large numbers, statistically, positivity rate isn't good for a primary data point. Not saying it's totally meaningless, but the epidemiologists pointing to it know exactly the validity of it. The municipal leaders in these cities and counties (Waco and McLennan...ahem), don't. Throwing numbers out there without explaining or understanding them, and then KWTX or the Trib or whoever running with them has gotten us into a lot of what we are in right now.

Last seven days, cases per 100,000 residents:

Travis 53
Bell 64
McLennan 201
Williamson 36
Bexar 57
Harris 146

templeton said:

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Last seven days, cases per 100,000 residents:

Travis 53
Bell 64
McLennan 201
Williamson 36
Bexar 57
Harris 146

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You just proved my point. You realize that right?

I did not understand your point. What was it and how did I prove it?

I was replying with data that suggests that the mask policies that you and other posters were complaining about in Williamson and Travis counties might benefit Bell and McLennan counties. Only Harris County had more cases this week per capita than Bell County, and none listed had more cases this week per capita than McLennan County.

I'm not trying to be a jerk. I legitimately don't understand your point.

Cases mean nothing. I'd rather have 30,000 cases a week and empty ERs and hospitals. Then we'd be closer to herd immunity.

So Travis had 636+ new cases and BellCo had 224+ in the last 7 days? That means 100% are half way or fully recovered! That's awesome!