[conspire] Testing, 1, 2, 3 (San Mateo County free testing)

[Mignon Belongie]

My (tentative) plan is to wait until Kaiser (my HMO) asks me to get tested.
Kaiser is building a new lab in Berkeley, expected to open by June 1, able
to process 10,000 tests a day:
https://lookinside.kaiserpermanente.org/kaiser-permanente-building-massive-covid-19-test-lab/

That was dated 4/16, so I looked for more recent news, and found the
following, which states that they're still on track for June 1:
https://permanente.org/berkeley-coronavirus-testing-lab-highlighted-by-stephen-parodi-md-in-voice-of-america-video/

I've always been a big fan of Kaiser, and feel even more fortunate in the
current situation to be a member. As it happens, I signed up last year with
the Kaiser Permanente Research Bank, so maybe they'll ask me to get tested
sooner than they otherwise would, but in any case, I trust Kaiser's
judgement on test prioritization.



On Sat, May 16, 2020 at 2:30 PM Rick Moen <rick at linuxmafia.com> wrote:

>
> A neighbour posted something urging everyone in San Mateo County to take
> advantage of free testing by appointment starting this Monday, 'so the
> counties can be opened up soon!'  She provided links to Verily Life
> Sciences' Project Baseline for further details.
>
> https://www.projectbaseline.com/study/covid-19/
>
> https://www.sfchronicle.com/bayarea/article/To-re-open-California-must-test-60-000-people-15219607.php
>
>
> My comment:
>
>
> Thank you, Mary.  While waiting for the coffee to kick in, I attempted a
> quick assessment and have some comments & concerns.  To repeat, this was
> just a quick pass, so I make no pretence to be comprehensive or to not
> miss things.  (Corrections are very welcome.)  Also, critical remarks
> below are very much _not_ aimed at you.
>
> 1.  The Google factor.  Seems that S.M. County's testing stations
> starting Monday, May 18th will (all three) be operated by Verily Life
> Sciences, a subsidiary of Google/Alphabet.
>
> a) Vagueness.  If someone says 'COVID-19 test', the first thing I want
> to know is:  RT-PCR or antibody (aka serology)?  Those investigate
> different concerns.  And the second thing is: Which test?  Over ten
> minutes of browsing lots of pages at Project Baseline, including the
> FAQ, they weren't addressing either question.  Lots of soothing wording,
> but failure to answer _the very most obvious_ questions.  Finally, after
> about twelve minutes of wandering around, I found on their _blog_, of
> all places, a reference to 'nasal swabs' (which implies RT-PCR-type
> testing for current SARS-CoV-2 viral load) and that at least some of the
> testing kits are produced by 'Thermo Fisher Scientific' and 'Becton
> Dickinson', with kits being then processed by Quest Diagnostics.
>
> Tests (of either type) differ quite a lot in their quality and
> characteristics.  How good are the ones Verily is offering?  No clue.
> Project Baseline doesn't even say _what tests_ they are.
>
> b) What's the product?  In the software industry, there's a now-trite
> saying that if you're not certain you're the customer, check very
> carefully to make sure you aren't the product.  These tests are
> free-of-charge to the patient, so, gosh, what revenue source provides
> the funding?  Google/Alphabet happens to be the second nosiest
> corporation in the world (next to one on headquartered in Menlo Park's
> baylands), whose business model is quietly but inextricably rooted in
> data-mining.
>
> Signing up for a Project Baseline test necessitates a Google Account,
> which one might create for that one-time purpose:  In past times, a
> Google Account could be linked to any e-mail account, such as a
> throwaway webmail one, but recently Google also insists on a valid
> contact telephone number (justified as for 2FA).  So, there goes
> privacy.
>
> For the above reasons, I wouldn't touch Project Baseline with a
> barge-pole, personally.  I'd want (1) to either pay, so I'm the
> customer, or have most or all cost covered by my HMO, whom I already
> trust with my medical data.  (2) To know, in advance, exactly what test.
> And frankly, I'd like to shop for and pick the test, rather than accept
> what's on offer because it's 'free'.
>
> I fully understand S.M. County leveraging Verily Life Sciences'
> resources.  After all, they're overcommitted, and outsourcing was
> inevitable.  But still:  wouldn't touch it with a barge-pole.
>
>
> _______________________________________________
> conspire mailing list
> conspire at linuxmafia.com
> http://linuxmafia.com/mailman/listinfo/conspire
>
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://linuxmafia.com/pipermail/conspire/attachments/20200516/488cc038/attachment.html>