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Testing, Testing, Testing!
Translated from Dutch. View the original post
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What are the weapons we have to return to normal life'? 'I say: test as much as possible', says Jaap Goudsmit in #buitenhof
Jaap Goudsmit, professor Harvard Chan School of Public Health, wants to test many more people on the coronavirus.
Government, protect us better from this virus
Rosanne Hertzberger
Criticism in times of crisis feels like deserting. Treason! At this time, we must applaud the troops. And my betrayal is even worse. Two weeks ago, I praised Prime Minister Rutte and the RIVM for their cold-blooded attitude. I put panic sowers in front of experts, people yelling versus people measuring.
But my confidence then expressed has been put to the test for the last two weeks. Intensive cares are getting full, companies are on the lookout, a deep recession is taking place. The Netherlands literally and figuratively gasps for breath. I fear that the 500 Covid-19 deaths are a gross underestimation of the problem. Those who test little will find little too.
Read also: The Netherlands comes with a contingency plan to significantly expand the number of coronate testsThat testing is exactly my concern. The RIVM tests remarkably little, while the major public health organisations really advise something else. Each time we hear that the small number of tests inevitably results from the lack of materials to perform them. Also RIVM leader Jaap van Dissel stressed this in the Chamber: this is all we can do, unfortunately.Soon investigative journalists found the great culprit: Roche Diagnostics held the devices in our laboratories in an iron grip. Finally, we could blame someone for our suffering.
The anger was certainly justified. So, if the infrastructure relies on Roche products to a large extent and the company cannot deliver them in times of crisis, the government must enforce emergency solutions: such as claims, compulsory licenses or explicit legal protection for the hackers who break into the system.
But there was an elephant in the room. Because not only did the supply of test materials fail, there was also a lack of demand. It was not only a matter of being able to test little, but mostly of wanting to test little. The Dutch public health authority is still following the policy of 'flattening the curve': stop the epidemic without wishing to stop it completely.
This braking is done on the basis of the most expensive health measure in the recent history of the Netherlands: the almost complete closure of this country. That braking works fine, by the way. The speed with which the epidemic is moving is clearly slowed down. But the question is whether, in a few weeks, when you need to revitalise the economy, you will be able to go out with peace of mind, without any idea where the virus is hiding.
That is not the only reason my trust is being put to the test. Achieving group immunity may not be an official policy goal, but it is a logical consequence of our choice of continued policy rather than Asian zero-tolerance policy.
As a citizen of this country, I expect the government to commit itself to protecting my health through sensible public health policies. That means, dear authorities, I don't want to catch pneumonia. And I don't want to have a significant chance of pneumonia either. I find that an unacceptable danger. I want you to better protect me from this virus.
And if it's unacceptable to me, a healthy young woman, I find it totally unacceptable for the elderly, the 1 million Dutch diabetics, the 1.5 million people with cardiovascular diseases, the hundreds of thousands of cancer patients trying to fix up and move on with their lives.
Read also: Why beer filter calculations about the virus do not work
I have a great deal of awe for the specialists of the RIVM. They measure, they model — I'm counting on the back of a beer mat. And yet I doubt their choice. What do they know that we don't know? Are we seeing the new revolutionary 'Dutch approach' here and are they the smartest, or is this just the wrong decision? The group community is still waiting for a while, so much is clear.
The latest flu bulletin from research institute Nivel shows that only 11 percent of patients who report flu-like complaints to general practitioners carry the SARS-CoV-2 virus. The Netherlands therefore crawls on its knees towards group immunity. I fear that in this way it will be 2025 before the vulnerable among us can go out again with confidence.
Rosanne Hertzberger is a microbiologist.
Rosanne Hertzberger
Criticism in times of crisis feels like deserting. Treason! At this time, we must applaud the troops. And my betrayal is even worse. Two weeks ago, I praised Prime Minister Rutte and the RIVM for their cold-blooded attitude. I put panic sowers in front of experts, people yelling versus people measuring.
But my confidence then expressed has been put to the test for the last two weeks. Intensive cares are getting full, companies are on the lookout, a deep recession is taking place. The Netherlands literally and figuratively gasps for breath. I fear that the 500 Covid-19 deaths are a gross underestimation of the problem. Those who test little will find little too.
Read also: The Netherlands comes with a contingency plan to significantly expand the number of coronate testsThat testing is exactly my concern. The RIVM tests remarkably little, while the major public health organisations really advise something else. Each time we hear that the small number of tests inevitably results from the lack of materials to perform them. Also RIVM leader Jaap van Dissel stressed this in the Chamber: this is all we can do, unfortunately.Soon investigative journalists found the great culprit: Roche Diagnostics held the devices in our laboratories in an iron grip. Finally, we could blame someone for our suffering.
The anger was certainly justified. So, if the infrastructure relies on Roche products to a large extent and the company cannot deliver them in times of crisis, the government must enforce emergency solutions: such as claims, compulsory licenses or explicit legal protection for the hackers who break into the system.
But there was an elephant in the room. Because not only did the supply of test materials fail, there was also a lack of demand. It was not only a matter of being able to test little, but mostly of wanting to test little. The Dutch public health authority is still following the policy of 'flattening the curve': stop the epidemic without wishing to stop it completely.
This braking is done on the basis of the most expensive health measure in the recent history of the Netherlands: the almost complete closure of this country. That braking works fine, by the way. The speed with which the epidemic is moving is clearly slowed down. But the question is whether, in a few weeks, when you need to revitalise the economy, you will be able to go out with peace of mind, without any idea where the virus is hiding.
That is not the only reason my trust is being put to the test. Achieving group immunity may not be an official policy goal, but it is a logical consequence of our choice of continued policy rather than Asian zero-tolerance policy.
As a citizen of this country, I expect the government to commit itself to protecting my health through sensible public health policies. That means, dear authorities, I don't want to catch pneumonia. And I don't want to have a significant chance of pneumonia either. I find that an unacceptable danger. I want you to better protect me from this virus.
And if it's unacceptable to me, a healthy young woman, I find it totally unacceptable for the elderly, the 1 million Dutch diabetics, the 1.5 million people with cardiovascular diseases, the hundreds of thousands of cancer patients trying to fix up and move on with their lives.
Read also: Why beer filter calculations about the virus do not work
I have a great deal of awe for the specialists of the RIVM. They measure, they model — I'm counting on the back of a beer mat. And yet I doubt their choice. What do they know that we don't know? Are we seeing the new revolutionary 'Dutch approach' here and are they the smartest, or is this just the wrong decision? The group community is still waiting for a while, so much is clear.
The latest flu bulletin from research institute Nivel shows that only 11 percent of patients who report flu-like complaints to general practitioners carry the SARS-CoV-2 virus. The Netherlands therefore crawls on its knees towards group immunity. I fear that in this way it will be 2025 before the vulnerable among us can go out again with confidence.
Rosanne Hertzberger is a microbiologist.
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