Why is the government buying Covid tests without evidence they work?

Dr Dami Collier (UCL Infection & Immunity) co-writes an op-ed questioning the decision of the UK Government to purchase the new 90 minute rapid diagnostic tests when there is no present evidence to show they work. Many of us working in NHS hospitals welcomed the news earlier this week that the government had purchased 90-minute Covid-19 tests. Rapid swab tests, called LamPORE, and 5,000 machines, supplied by DnaNudge, will soon be available in adult care settings and laboratories. If they're effective, they could allow for rapid, on-the-spot testing. But there's no publicly available data about the accuracy of these tests or how they perform, raising concerns about why the government has endorsed - and purchased - them. The lab-free testing machine from DnaNudge is potentially exciting. The government has placed a £161m order for these machines, which are currently being evaluated on saliva.
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