COVID-19 false positive tests sweep NFL and steal Browns practice
Buried on the interior pages of local newspapers is that NFL teams including the Browns, Steelers, Bills, Jets, Vikings and Bears all received multiple positive COVID-19 tests. BioReference lab in New Jersey.reported that players, coaches and staff of the Cleveland Browns posted double-digit positive tests for the virus, and that was likewise true of other NFL teams submitting samples for testing to the lab.
In all, the New Jersey lab reported 77 positive tests spread across 11 NFL teams. Based on the apparent irregularities, players testing positive were re-tested using point-of-care kits and all of the tests came back negative.
Based on these results, the Browns, who had cancelled their practice based on the original results, rescheduled a walk-through practice that was not live-streamed.
The Browns did not disclose which players initially tested positive, but stated that the players would have to test negative on Monday before returning to practice. Per NFL policy, a negative PCR test is required before a player returns to action.
So what would have happened if this testing debacle had occurred on an NFL Sunday? The Vikings would have had to go into battle down 12 players. The Steelers would be missing nine. The Bills would have been forced to play their back-up quarterback Matt Barkley. The Browns would have been without their head coach.
It is a challenge that the NFL faces this season. COVID-19 tests are prone to error. If you don't believe me, ask Ohio's Governor Mike DeWine, who first tested positive for COVID-19 only to quickly have that positive test debunked by further testing.
The scientist who invented the PCR (Polymerase Chain Reaction) test kit was Kary B. Mullis. Now deceased, he was a bit of a controversial figure who publicly stated that PCR should never be used as the primary tool in the diagnosis of infectious diseases. His statements were made with respect to his cynicism of the HIV-AIDS hypothesis, but are equally applicable to the COVID-19 situation.
PCR is a manufacturing technique, which amplifies genetic material for evaluation. Coincidentally, it amplifies testing contamination. Additionally, it looks for certain viral sequences which are bits of non-human DNA that seem to match parts of a known viral genome. Certain guesswork is involved that ultimately needs to be tuned and calibrated based on corroborative information received from treatment.
The rush to create a PCR test that detects a virus first discovered in the fourth quarter of 2019 should temper any expectation that the test is a finely-tuned instrument. The best that can be hoped for is that it will be a useful tool. With COVID-19 there is an additional problem. Because a large majority of people infected with COVID-19 in the demographic of professional athletes are either completely asymptomatic or experience mild, non-specific symptoms, it is more difficult to judge the test's efficacy.
A rash of false positive tests is likely a problem that the NFL will face at some time during its season. False flash epidemics have long been known to be a potential problem with PCR testing, as was reported by the New York Times in 2007 in connection with a false outbreak of the whooping cough on Dartmouth's medical campus.
This is nobody's fault. The tests are the best predictors that we have and the NFL and players union rightfully are taking available measures to protect the NFL players and their families, even if their accuracy is questionable. NFL players already play a dangerous game where the risk of a life-changing injury is accepted and assumed.
Perhaps this false alarm will allow the NFL to adjust its policies to better account for this contingency and make sure that the inevitable testing error does not translate to competitive disadvantage.
Right now, we should be grateful for the fact that, unlike the BIG-10, the NFL players and executives are united in their effort to push forward to give its fans a season and provide some normalization in crazy times.
In all, the New Jersey lab reported 77 positive tests spread across 11 NFL teams. Based on the apparent irregularities, players testing positive were re-tested using point-of-care kits and all of the tests came back negative.
Based on these results, the Browns, who had cancelled their practice based on the original results, rescheduled a walk-through practice that was not live-streamed.
The Browns did not disclose which players initially tested positive, but stated that the players would have to test negative on Monday before returning to practice. Per NFL policy, a negative PCR test is required before a player returns to action.
So what would have happened if this testing debacle had occurred on an NFL Sunday? The Vikings would have had to go into battle down 12 players. The Steelers would be missing nine. The Bills would have been forced to play their back-up quarterback Matt Barkley. The Browns would have been without their head coach.
It is a challenge that the NFL faces this season. COVID-19 tests are prone to error. If you don't believe me, ask Ohio's Governor Mike DeWine, who first tested positive for COVID-19 only to quickly have that positive test debunked by further testing.
The scientist who invented the PCR (Polymerase Chain Reaction) test kit was Kary B. Mullis. Now deceased, he was a bit of a controversial figure who publicly stated that PCR should never be used as the primary tool in the diagnosis of infectious diseases. His statements were made with respect to his cynicism of the HIV-AIDS hypothesis, but are equally applicable to the COVID-19 situation.
PCR is a manufacturing technique, which amplifies genetic material for evaluation. Coincidentally, it amplifies testing contamination. Additionally, it looks for certain viral sequences which are bits of non-human DNA that seem to match parts of a known viral genome. Certain guesswork is involved that ultimately needs to be tuned and calibrated based on corroborative information received from treatment.
The rush to create a PCR test that detects a virus first discovered in the fourth quarter of 2019 should temper any expectation that the test is a finely-tuned instrument. The best that can be hoped for is that it will be a useful tool. With COVID-19 there is an additional problem. Because a large majority of people infected with COVID-19 in the demographic of professional athletes are either completely asymptomatic or experience mild, non-specific symptoms, it is more difficult to judge the test's efficacy.
A rash of false positive tests is likely a problem that the NFL will face at some time during its season. False flash epidemics have long been known to be a potential problem with PCR testing, as was reported by the New York Times in 2007 in connection with a false outbreak of the whooping cough on Dartmouth's medical campus.
This is nobody's fault. The tests are the best predictors that we have and the NFL and players union rightfully are taking available measures to protect the NFL players and their families, even if their accuracy is questionable. NFL players already play a dangerous game where the risk of a life-changing injury is accepted and assumed.
Perhaps this false alarm will allow the NFL to adjust its policies to better account for this contingency and make sure that the inevitable testing error does not translate to competitive disadvantage.
Right now, we should be grateful for the fact that, unlike the BIG-10, the NFL players and executives are united in their effort to push forward to give its fans a season and provide some normalization in crazy times.
COVID-19 false positive tests sweep NFL and steal Browns practice
Reviewed by AT Dawgger
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9:24 AM
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Reviewed by AT Dawgger
on
9:24 AM
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