Test, Test, Test? Scientists Question Costly Mass COVID Checks

People queue to get a swab test for the Covid-19 coronavirus at a swab collection site in Beijing on May 10, 2022. (AFP)

For many people worldwide, having cotton swabs thrust up their nose or down their throat to test for COVID-19 has become a routine and familiar annoyance.

But two years into the pandemic, health officials in some countries are questioning the merits of repeated, mass testing when it comes to containing infections, particularly considering the billions it costs.