For a variety of reasons, many Americans seem to think that "flattening the curve" means that fewer Americans will get covid-19 total. This is inaccurate. The same number of Americans will get it over time, but the time delay means our systems aren't overwhelmed.

I fear people are making similar mistakes about testing. Testing does not mean that the virus will be stamped out of American life. The goal is to identify hot spots and contact trace to prevent deep outbreaks. Risks will still remain higher at baseline in day-to-day life.

That is why we have to utilize a sliding scale when determining how many tests are "necessary" to let people go back to work. The reality is that the tests all have flaws, and we're cobbling together something workable with gum and shoelaces.

PCR tests have had accuracy problems. Temperature checks do not account for covid-19's pre-symptomatic spread. Antibody tests only measure antibodies that form days after covid-19 is obtained. Using all of them, we can dampen the hottest spots.

Let's not lie about what tests can and cannot accomplish. That sets up expectations that can never be met.