News for hackers. Stuff that matters.

A comment on In 4 US state prisons, 3,300 inmates test positive, 96% without symptoms. Parent comment

Re:In 4 US state prisons, 3,300 inmates test positive, 96% w... by arcticfox on Saturday April 25, 2020 @07:32PM (#22982608)
> The difference being a high false negative rate may be more dangerous

At an individual level, false negative seems more dangerous. But at a macro level, a high false positive rate could lead to taking dramatically policy decisions

[ Parent | on HN ]
Re:In 4 US state prisons, 3,300 inmates test positive, 96% w... by bumby on Saturday April 25, 2020 @07:37PM (#22982634)
Sorry, I was editing my comment to add that very perspective just as you replied it seems.

I agree with the caveat that false negative rate is much more relevant for society when a disease is very contagious. Take measles, with an R0 in the teens. A high false negative rate can cause explosive growth in the numbers of people catching the disease, which I think is what makes it relevant to the COVID-19 scenario

[ Parent | on HN ]