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Can we afford Coronavirus testing

DongBeetle

DongBeetle

Member
Oct 25, 2017
8,089
I'm having an argument with my roommate and he keeps asking me where the money for free screenings will come from. He multiplied 180 dollars by how many Americans he thinks will get it and showed me the number and asked me how we can afford this. Do you guys think this is a valid concern? I don't. Testing kits and shit will come down in cost

I am high right now just an fyi
 
xxracerxx

xxracerxx

Avenger
Oct 25, 2017
31,222
It's not a concern, but that doesn't mean tests will actually be free in America.

Does your roommate not understand how much money is spent by the US government?
 
NTGYK

NTGYK

Attempted to circumvent ban with an alt-account
Banned
Oct 29, 2017
3,470
Why are so many Americans so goddamned fucking stupid. It's a public health crisis and if you can spend a trillion dollars killing brown people for 30 years, you can afford to test people for a fucking virus for six months. It's all fucking imaginary money anyway.
 
finalflame

finalflame

Product Management
Banned
Oct 27, 2017
8,538
Knight613 said:
Testing is basically free everywhere else.
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It's not free, someone is paying for it.

And yes, we can afford it. It's time for private business and government to step up and sell/buy these at cost for public use, instead of profiting from a pandemic (which might already be what is being done, no clue).
 
sprsk

sprsk

Resettlement Advisor
Member
Oct 25, 2017
3,477
Your friend is right we might have to cut the whole entire government to do this. May even have to rejoin Britain.
 
Illusion

Illusion

Banned
Oct 27, 2017
8,407
We just dumped 2 trillion dollars into the stock market without a approval or second thought.

Yes. Yes we could afford testing.
 
Toxi

Toxi

The Fallen
Oct 27, 2017
17,552
It's just fucking rt-PCR. Give any lab the reagents and the samples and they can do it in a few hours.
 
BDS

BDS

Banned
Oct 25, 2017
13,845
Unfortunately, and it brings me no pleasure to report this, we may need to cease production on one or two drone missiles in order to pay for it. Maybe three, but hopefully no more than that.
 
mael

mael

Avenger
Nov 3, 2017
16,956
Can the US afford to not do it?
Are people really ok with a % of the population dropping dead for no good reason?
 
ExtremelyBitter

ExtremelyBitter

Member
Oct 25, 2017
2,944
Just tell him the Trump tariffs will pay for it.

It's a lie but this isn't a question that deserves any more time or energy thrown at it because it's the government, it's a crisis, and the tariffs are the official Trump explanation for what pays for everything so it's fine.
 
Morrison71

Morrison71

Member
Oct 27, 2017
999
The current gold standard flu test costs $75 per cartridge, the test will probably be the same PCR method and cost the same amount fwiw.
 
SnakeXs

SnakeXs

Member
Oct 28, 2017
3,111
We just pumped over a trillion to help cushion stocks. There's talks of other corporate bailouts to be gleefully handed out. The economy hurts much more via the damage caused by the spread than the minuscule cost of fucking testing.

Your friends a moron. Save your energy.

"Theres just no feasible way to pay for this" says the biggest most developed nation tripping over itself out the gate on this. FFS
 
Veliladon

Veliladon

Member
Oct 27, 2017
5,563
NTGYK said:
Why are so many Americans so goddamned fucking stupid. It's a public health crisis and if you can spend a trillion dollars killing brown people for 30 years, you can afford to test people for a fucking virus for six months. It's all fucking imaginary money anyway.
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This.

Toxi said:
It's just fucking rt-PCR. Give any lab the reagents and the samples and they can do it in a few hours.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...

And this.
 
Paz

Paz

Member
Nov 1, 2017
2,163
Brisbane, Australia
What does your roommate estimate the cost is for not doing anything about the virus.

Remind them that this cost is significantly higher than literally any alternative.
 
Kazooie

Kazooie

Member
Jul 17, 2019
5,073
1. Not every American is being tested
2. Have you ever taken a look at how much taxes you pay?
 
NTGYK

NTGYK

Attempted to circumvent ban with an alt-account
Banned
Oct 29, 2017
3,470
To be honest, the idiocy in America and its government has gotten to the point where maybe this country needs a wave of death and destruction to wake it the fuck up. Absolutely ridiculous. This is a fucking travesty, it's 2020 and this argument is still happening, there is no one taking responsibility, and it's come down to hoping state governors have some fucking common sense.
 
GravaGravity

GravaGravity

Member
Oct 27, 2017
4,250
Didn't the US just dump a fucking TRILLION to protect the markets? Imaging spending that money on people instead...
 
jerf

jerf

Member
Nov 1, 2017
6,246
Was the number bigger than 1.5 Trillion? No? I guess we can afford it then.
 
Dyle

Dyle

One Winged Slayer
The Fallen
Oct 25, 2017
30,118
I think it's safe to safe that you are much higher right now than the cost of testing everyone will be
 
Morrison71

Morrison71

Member
Oct 27, 2017
999
Toxi said:
It's just fucking rt-PCR. Give any lab the reagents and the samples and they can do it in a few hours.
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I hate to be that guy but there is actually no reagents involved in flu pcr testing. It's not even that complicated. It's actually a test that is low level complexity so even phlebotomists with very little training can preform it.
 
kaputt

kaputt

Member
Oct 27, 2017
1,211
Of course the US can afford it.

Tests are free in Brazil and we have a GDP ten times lower than yours, with a similar (but much poorer) population.

It's always funny to see people in the US thinking that free healthcare is something impossible to achieve, but I understand. When I went to US for vacation, I had to buy some stuff at the drugstore but couldn't find the cheap and effective products that I usually buy here, only equivalent and more expensive products that aren't even better for your health. The health and medicine market there works in a crazy way.
 
Kirblar

Kirblar

Banned
Oct 25, 2017
30,744

Deleted member 30681

user requested account closure
Banned
Nov 4, 2017
3,184
no we can't and I suggest everyone to stop being poor so they can afford it.

the country that spent 9 trillion dollars, on one of the most pointless foreign policy blunders in it's history can afford to test it's people, yes.
 

Copper

Banned
Nov 13, 2017
666
NTGYK said:
Why are so many Americans so goddamned fucking stupid. It's a public health crisis and if you can spend a trillion dollars killing brown people for 30 years, you can afford to test people for a fucking virus for six months. It's all fucking imaginary money anyway.
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Not only that, but the fed just pumped 500 billion dollars in the stock market a day ago. It evaporated in 30 MINUTES. That's 5000 dollars for every single american. Think what 5000 dollars to every american would do: a LOT. People could afford to stay home if sick easily, poorer families could pay off some debt, and the economy would be hugely better off for everyone. But instead we dump trillions in stock markets and wars and nothing for the people.


Go fuck yourself, mr. "how we gonna pay for it"
 
feline fury

feline fury

Member
Dec 8, 2017
1,562
Morrison71 said:
I hate to be that guy but there is actually no reagents involved in flu pcr testing. It's not even that complicated. It's actually a test that is low level complexity so even phlebotomists with very little training can preform it.
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Are there actual commercial cartridges made for COVID-19 right now though? The current tests really might be the standard PCR reagents.
 
Bakercat

Bakercat

Member
Oct 27, 2017
10,154
'merica
Do we question where we get the money for multiple year wars, bailout of corporations, or the detention of legal immigration?
 
Jakenbakin

Jakenbakin

"This guy are sick" and Corrupted by Vengeance
Member
Jun 17, 2018
11,953
I wish people would drop the 1.5 trillion rhetoric, it makes us look stupid when there's so many, many valid replies that actually make sense.

Anyway OP your roommate is a fucking idiot. Like literally unless he added a multitude of 0s to the end of his math, I can't even imagine what number he came up with that is beyond our expense. My quick math showed if you need 400 million tests (which we obviously won't) it would be 72 billion dollars. Yes. Yes we can afford 72 billion dollars. Jesus Christ.
 
HTupolev

HTupolev

Member
Oct 27, 2017
2,461
DongBeetle said:
I'm having an argument with my roommate and he keeps asking me where the money for free screenings will come from. He multiplied 180 dollars by how many Americans he thinks will get it and showed me the number and asked me how we can afford this. Do you guys think this is a valid concern? I don't. Testing kits and shit will come down in cost

I am high right now just an fyi
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The cost per test to the federal government would be way less than $180, and nobody is saying that literally everyone in the country needs to be tested at this instant. For example, even South Korea has currently only tested less than 1 person in every 200.
 
Morrison71

Morrison71

Member
Oct 27, 2017
999
feline fury said:
Are there actual commercial cartridges made for COVID-19 right now though? The current tests really might be the standard PCR reagents.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
I have no clue about current COVID testing other than our lab has protocol to use the same swab we use with current flu tests and send it to the state lab for testing. I imagine it will be on the same machine we currently use for flu testing which is pcr and doesn't use reagents but just a cartridge that we load the specimen into and load, no reagents involved.
 
ForgeForsaken

ForgeForsaken

Member
Oct 27, 2017
3,001
20 minutes into the future.
DongBeetle said:
I'm having an argument with my roommate and he keeps asking me where the money for free screenings will come from. He multiplied 180 dollars by how many Americans he thinks will get it and showed me the number and asked me how we can afford this. Do you guys think this is a valid concern? I don't. Testing kits and shit will come down in cost

I am high right now just an fyi
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...

Since you are high...Money is just a social construct, it only exists because we all agree to believe in it.
 
Beef Supreme

Beef Supreme

Member
Oct 25, 2017
5,073
The real question that should be asked is how can afford NOT to? If they want to take it out on my next tax return...so be it. At least I will be a) alive or b) not spreading it to someone else.
 
Toxi

Toxi

The Fallen
Oct 27, 2017
17,552
Morrison71 said:
I hate to be that guy but there is actually no reagents involved in flu pcr testing. It's not even that complicated. It's actually a test that is low level complexity so even phlebotomists with very little training can preform it.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
I haven't ever done this for a disease, but the rtPCTR protocol mentioned on the CDC website seems to use the generic reagents at least. It still looks incredibly cheap.

EDIT: And somehow I missed the giant NOT FOR DIAGNOSTIC USE at the top. My apologies.
 
Vic Damone Jr.

Vic Damone Jr.

Member
Oct 27, 2017
16,694
NTGYK said:
Why are so many Americans so goddamned fucking stupid. It's a public health crisis and if you can spend a trillion dollars killing brown people for 30 years, you can afford to test people for a fucking virus for six months. It's all fucking imaginary money anyway.
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Cause fuck everyone else. America too damn shortsighted and self centered.
 
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