Opinion | There Are Many Ways We Haven't Tried to Test for the Coronavirus

We could test saliva. We could test groups of samples at once. We could even let people test themselves. These tests aren't perfect, but that's not the point. We made a mistake at first with how we talked about masks. We're making the same mistake now with tests.

In this opinion piece, New York Times writer Aaron Carroll looks at the current testing trends, and points to ways that we could improve. Dr. Carroll compares the way public health officials approached mask wearing to testing, by highlighting the original surge to save both masks and tests for the most vulnerable. Dr. Carroll, however, disagrees with this approach and instead thinks that we must accept that every test is not going to be perfect. In his opinion, we must focus on widespread testing, even if that means that we sacrifice some level of accuracy. He supports testing entire populations instead of using only the most effective tests on individuals.