August 13, 2020

expert reaction to DHSC press release on Test & Trace app

The Department of Health and Social Care have announced* that the new NHS Test and Trace app is to begin its trial phase.

Dr Peter Bannister, Executive Chair, Institution of Engineering and Technology Healthcare Sector, said:

“Since the previous Track and Trace app was launched, there is now a greater awareness that an app is just one part of a comprehensive testing strategy and that its effectiveness is reliant on timely processing of physical swab tests. Furthermore, significant challenges remain in terms of obtaining sufficient levels of national adoption for it to be effective, as well as specific technical issues such as the ability to accurately register strangers in close proximity who may subsequently be determined to have the virus. Clear statements around privacy are welcome but fundamentally this and other technical approaches for tackling Covid-19, must be pursued in a transparent manner of collaboration with the public if they are to help improve the current situation over the longer term. Necessary levels of adoption will require near-unanimous trust which in turn demands objective evidence of effectiveness and data protection.”

Dr Natalie Banner, Understanding Patient Data Lead, said:

“From what we’ve seen of the new app, the NHS Test and Trace team have made significant efforts to address concerns people had about the first version. By adopting the Google/ Apple API and a decentralised model, this version resolves a number of the privacy issues that were previously raised. 

We’re pleased that the app will be piloted in different regions, as this is an opportunity to learn if the technology works in practice and how people feel about using it. We look forward to seeing the results of the trials published in the open and the app team responding to public feedback.

This is a learning process that many countries are going through, so it’s vital that future decisions about the app are made transparently and with democratic oversight.”

Dr Thomas House, Reader in Mathematical Statistics, University of Manchester, said:

“It is excellent news that the Track and Trace app is entering a trial phase. Unfortunately, it is unclear whether this is informed by the latest scientific understanding of the COVID pandemic. For example, the Alan Turing Institute blog released on 13 August [1] refers its estimates for infectious risk for risk scoring to an unreviewed preprint dated 25 May [2], which refers to estimates in a model first posted online on 31 March [3], which refers to studies based on Chinese data from early February [4,5]. Therefore, we are left to conclude that the UK’s national Track and Trace app is, in mid-August, being developed using epidemiological parameters estimated for a different country and from six months ago. It is important going forwards that the scientific input to such programmes follows a model closer to that of SAGE, bringing together multiple independent groups to ensure that any analysis reflects the latest understanding of COVID.”

References:

[1] https://www.turing.ac.uk/blog/technical-roadmap-uks-contract-tracing-app-functionality

[2] https://arxiv.org/abs/2005.11057

[3] https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2020.03.08.20032946v2

[4] https://www.imperial.ac.uk/media/imperial-college/medicine/mrc-gida/2020-02-10-COVID19-Report-4.pdf

[5] https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2020.02.02.20020016v1

Prof Christophe Fraser, scientific advisor to the NHSx and Department of Health & Social Care, & Department of Medicine, University of Oxford Nuffield, said:

“Comprehensive and speedy contact tracing is a critical tool to help retain control of the COVID-19 epidemic, and to avoid repeated lockdowns. Tracing needs to find contacts quickly because coronavirus spreads before symptoms occur. The more communities download the app, the more loved ones, colleagues and people we don’t know or remember we’ve been close to can be rapidly notified of a high risk encounter. We’ve analysed from as little as 15-20% of the population using the app there will be a reduction in cases, hospitalisations and deaths. The app will enable us to return to more active daily lives with the reassurance that we can anonymously alert our network and help avoid a second wave.​”

*DHSC press release: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/test-and-trace-service-reaches-more-than-250-000-people-since-launch

All our previous output on this subject can be seen at this weblink:

www.sciencemediacentre.org/tag/covid-19

Declared interests

None received.