Contents
The Offer
- 23andme is offering a free ancestry and health test kit for those who have been hospitalized by COVID-19.
Our Verdict
I’m very hesitant to post any deal that requires having a positive COVID-19 test as I obviously don’t want to encourage or provide an incentive for people to get infected. In the end I posted this for two reasons: it requires hospitalization and hopefully people aren’t stupid enough to get infected by something that requires hospitalization to qualify and there is also some level of science/research going on here as well. Truth be told I have no idea how useful that science/research is.
View Comments (22)
Seems like lots of companies are trying to gather data/subjects with regard to covid. I regularly donate blood and noticed on the red cross app that they tested me for covid antibodies when I donated last week. I was negative but it says in the if you are positive they will contact you "to request additional information and conduct further testing as a part of a research study." I am not complaining, just commenting. I am sure the covid antibody testing information was in the red cross information that I never read :).
I donated last month and yeah, I asked how many tubes got added since COVID, and just one more. Can't recall now if it was 5 or 6 total. No news is good news.
I like how they send an e-mail where your blood goes (entity, not person), which was the first time for me it stayed truly local.
23andme will promptly share your DNA with law enforcement.
Why do you say that? Looks like they’ve supplied zero user data to-date.
https://www.23andme.com/transparency-report/
Sorry but how do you think they found the Golden State Killer?
https://www.forbes.com/sites/jvchamary/2020/06/30/genetic-genealogy-golden-state-killer/#5b7958b35a6d
Ah, on mobile i can’t tell which comments are responses to other comments. Yes, good they caught a real criminal.
wait, if thats true,, isn't that a good thing?
I don’t follow. Good for who?
Consumers lose, companies win?
it wasn't with 23andme data, it's also not really a secret
All the genetic, ancestry, and DNA companies should be grouped together. You shouldn’t separate them. Just like you don’t separate social media companies. They are all the same, not one is “special”.
And I’ll note, given that I’ve worked in the financial services industry. These health and genetic tests can raise your rates despite what they say. And let’s not even talk about preexisting conditions.
Cool conspiracy bro 😎
Not a Conspiracy, They are legally required to report certain things. -3rd year PHD student
Would you like to buy an insurance policy from me? Commission is around $1K per $250K policy.
Honestly, everyone should stay far away from 23 and Me. If you want genetic counseling as you primary care provider for a referral to a geneticist (trained in internal medicine or pediatrics followed by a fellowship in genetics) who can work you up while keeping your data HIPAA protected.
They basically want to build a large cohort of patients to tap for future studies as well as look at genetic markers making people susceptible to COVID. 23andme is one of the worst companies in making your data available to pretty much everyone. While you can select an option whether you want to participate in trials, they WILL sequence your data for 'discovery' just with the consent implied in purchasing their product. This is the ultimate 'you get what you pay for' scenario.
PRELIMINARY FINDING:
"So far, the 23andMe Research team's preliminary results, derived from analyzing data from existing 23andMe customers who participated, suggests that people with O blood type are between 9-18% less likely than individuals with other blood types to have tested positive for COVID-19. With your help, we could uncover even more."
TL:DR - if your blood type is O, you can stop wearing face masks and start French-kissing one another in broad daylight.
Was I supposed to stop French kissing people in broad daylight?
9% less likely, it's not as if it's 99% less likely... :P
Be responsible.
Your TL:DR is offensive. Please delete it.
Your lack of humor is offensive. Please delete it.
“Your TL:DR is offensive. Please delete it.”
It’s a joke. And yes, people can joke about COVID just like people joke about dying. That doesn’t mean people aren’t taking it seriously or don’t care about people that are dying. Humor works like that and some people need it to cope with the dreadful reality we all face.