Medical records are typically stored electronically so that, for example, doctors can refer back to your medical history (as can you). I'm not sure why COVID results would be unique in not being stored--and, in fact, seem like something that would be less sensitive than a lot of stored data.

And as per these records not being in the best interest of the person, knowledge of previous infection could be useful in diagnosis if, say, the person has long COVID and is unable to recite their medical history for some reason.

Admittedly, the results of COVID instant tests were not necessarily recorded anywhere--at least unless you made an appointment with your doctor after a positive result.

But I'm pretty sure that's not a reason to more or less uniquely exclude laboratory COVID tests from electronic record systems.

I was commenting w.r.t. employer-mandated tests of some/any sort. Things you might have to do as part of your going-to-work daily routine.

During the pandemic, I had a few customers who would take temperature when you arrived on-site, and put it in the paper contractor/visitor log. If they'd wanted me to submit the data to some third party and actually associate it with my and/or my business's name, I'd have had a problem with that. It wouldn't matter to me what procedure I was being asked to submit to.

I think I only once had to take a test to attend an event--and the company that handled the process claimed that records weren't kept. Of course, I had to submit proof of vaccination on many occasions including to my company.

I assume required testing was much more common in domains like healthcare.

Yeah I carried my vaccine card for a while, I never had to get a test of any sort for entry, but did have to get my temperature taken a bunch.

How many temperature readers now log the information to the cloud?

Doesn't matter if there's no way to tie it back to the individual; that is, the information on whose temperature is never available to the reader.

That depends on how many people work in the particular area with the particular reader, and what their general patterns of arrival to work are, and what their general patterns of body temperature are.

From an absolute "can this be correlated?" perspective, sure. From a "is this data easily mine-able" or "if someone gets this data, will I care?" perspective, not so much.

I was commenting w.r.t. employer-mandated tests of some kind.

I don't know about other countries' situation, but here in the USA we have things like insurance companies at least considering the possibility of buying up data from things like 23andme and using that data to adjust your premiums.

Problem is use of the word like "Typically ...".

Start there.

Indeed, we seem to be OK with things being stored forever, bought and sold without oversight or consent, when they could've been on a local piece of paper or never written down at all.

The “instant” tests that can be done without a lab are not anywhere near as accurate as lab tests.

Right, but you can do them as you come into work, visit a customer site as a contractor, whatever. Were any places that required a test for entry really requiring a lab test? If so, were they isolating the people whose test results were not in? If not, what's the point of testing?

Lab test require visiting place where you meet infected people.

I had several and was never in close proximity to anyone other then the staff.