Industry giant LabCorp is unveiling a four-in-one diagnostic test to detect major respiratory illnesses including COVID-19 and the flu.
It is designed to provide healthcare professionals with a helpful tool to diagnose their patients quickly and easily and provide information to determine treatment options.
According to WRAL Tech Wire, the test will help alleviate the anticipated collision of the seasonal flu and COVID-19 this fall.
“The U.S. is facing the most challenging health crisis in a century and is about to enter flu season, which has the potential to put additional strain on our healthcare system and cost lives,” said Dr. Brian Caveney, president of diagnostics at LabCorp, which is headquartered in Burlington, North Carolina. Experts note that both the flu and COVID-19 can trigger similar symptoms such as fever, cough and aches, and this test will take the guesswork out of determining the cause of illness.
As of Tuesday, Johns Hopkins University reported that 6.3 million Americans have been infected with COVID-19 and 56 million of us were hit by the flu during the late 2019-2020 season, according to statistics from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The flu may have caused the deaths of 62,000 Americans.
According to LabCorp, the single-panel test will detect multiple types of infections and is now available to patients through doctors, hospitals, and other authorized healthcare providers nationwide.