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MERS and SARS are not a huge concern (they never achieved wide circulation), but coronaviruses make up ~40% of what we know as the common cold.

That said, if the false positive rate were that high, the specificity of the test would be low.



These tests are not FDA approved, they're being allowed under emergency use authorization. They're not subject to the same rigger as tests normally allowed on the market and the manufacturer's specifications may be overstated.


"They're not subject to the same rigger as tests normally allowed on the market and the manufacturer's specifications may be overstated."

"rigor"

Also, the error bars on these may be wider than is usual for an approved test, but they are just as likely to be understated as overstated.


"rigour" :)


> ...but coronaviruses make up ~40% of what we know as the common cold.

Up to 20%, and I've seen numbers as low as 15% [1].

[1] https://www.webmd.com/cold-and-flu/cold-guide/common_cold_ca...




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