FDA approves at-home COVID-19, flu and RSV test kit

An at-home test kit for COVID-19 would be a break-through amidst the coronavirus pandemic. The Food and Drug Administration has approved the first at-home test kit that will be able to detect COVID-19, respiratory syncytial virus, influenza A and B and RSV, which is also a common virus. On a regular basis, a person has to go to the doctor to get themselves tested for all the viruses at once but this new test kit has been introduced by Labcorp. The kit allows the patient to take a nasal swab at the comfort of their home and the sample has to be sent to the company for analysis.

The results of the test are typically ready in one to two days after the company Labcorp receives the sample. Dr. Jeff Shuren, the head at Centre for Devices and Radiological Health at FDA, in a press release said that the FDA has already authorized a number of at-home test kits for COVID-19, this marks the first kit that has been authorized for flu, RSV and COVID-19. The press release added that here the individual would be able to decide themselves if they need to get tested, without the need of a consult from a health care professional.

Just like the other at-home test kits, the kit by Labcorp will be available online or at the retail stores and will not need a subscription. The test kit by Labcorp could be a little pricier than the other COVID-19 at-home test kits. One kit would be priced at $169. Here the advantage is that a single test would help to identify if someone has COVID-19, the flu or the RSV. This has been a common confusion since the past two and a half years of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The symptoms of Flu, RSV and COVID-19 are similar and it becomes difficult even for the health experts to identify the actual problem.

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