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You Asked Us About Lower Case Numbers And Testing – Here’s What We Learned
A sign guides drivers to the entrance of a drive through COVID-19 test site in Crenshaw. (Chava Sanchez/LAist)
If you have questions about COVID-19, you can ask us.
A reader wrote in to ask:
“I wanted to ask if you could research this a little. I'm pretty concerned that the COVID stats for infections are starting to degrade because most testing centers are being converted to vaccination centers ... if you're not testing, how can you really know that your infection rate is going down? Doesn't that skew the statistics? Is your infection rate only going down because your volume of testing is going down?”
To answer that, I looked at testing demand, unused testing capacity, and an important figure known as the test positivity rate.
READ THE FULL STORY:
READ OUR ONGOING COVERAGE OF COVID-19 AND VACCINES:
- If You're Over 16, You Can Get A COVID-19 Vaccine Starting April 15; Those 50+ Can Sign Up April 1
- How To Schedule Your COVID-19 Vaccine Appointment In LA (And Across SoCal)
- How To Get The Second Dose Of Vaccine -- And Everything You Need To Know About It
- Answers To Your COVID-19 Vaccine Questions -- Safety, Eligibility, Access, And Much More
- Vaccines Are Behind LA County's Decrease In COVID-19 Cases
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You come to LAist because you want independent reporting and trustworthy local information. Our nonprofit newsroom doesn’t answer to shareholders looking to turn a profit. Instead, we answer to you and our communities. We are free to follow facts wherever they lead and to hold power to account without fear or favor. Our only loyalty is to our readers and listeners and our mission: to inform, engage, and strengthen Southern California’s communities.
If this story helped you, please become a monthly member today to help sustain this mission. It just takes 1 minute to donate below.
Senior Vice President News, Editor in Chief
