KYW Newsradio's Medical Reports are sponsored by Independence Blue Cross.
By Dr. Brian McDonough, Medical Editor
PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — We talk about testing a great deal and there can be no argument that the U.S. has conducted more COVID-19 tests than any other country.
Unfortunately, there is no expert consensus on a recommended target for the raw number of tests. So, where do we begin?
Here is the most important thing you need to know: testing programs should be based on the size of the pandemic, not the size of the population.
Some countries that have the fewest tests per capita are doing quite well, while the U.S., with the highest rate of tests per capita, is performing miserably.
The way that you help control the virus and spread is looking at the positivity rate, or how many came back positive.
A high positivity rate means that only the sickest are being tested and a wide enough net is not being cast into the community.
