An estimated 20 people died because of the weeks of false negative Covid test results from the Immensa lab testing scandal, the UK’s health authority has admitted. A report has finally been published about the failure of the testing facilities in Wolverhampton for six weeks in September and October 2021, which mainly affected people in the West Country.
The UK Health Security Agency's report has revealed cases in the South West and in South Wales were noticeably higher for weeks during and after the testing failures began, and thousands of people ended up hospitalised with Covid who would probably not have even caught the virus if the tests had been done properly.
Data analysis in the report states: "We estimate that there were around 39,000 additional incorrect negatives from the laboratory than would have been expected had the samples been processed elsewhere during this period. This is our preferred estimate, which accounts for differences in age, test site, region and date.
