Testing During a Triple-demic: Get a 4-plex Test
Recently, there have been widespread reports of an uptick in Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV) and Influenza A/B (FLU) infections, as well as the continued cases of COVID-19. These mostly consist of mild and moderate COVID-19 illness, impacting work attendance, and limiting social interaction, but there are also still considerable hospitalizations and deaths from COVID-19.
The reason for the uptick in these 3 infections has to do in part with a decrease in the general immunity of the population after relative isolation during the COVID-pandemic. This simultaneous burden on the health care system has become serious enough to be called a triple epidemic. The symptoms of these respiratory diseases overlap considerably, and it is very difficult if not impossible to determine the type of infection based on symptoms alone. In patients with a weakened immune system there is also a concern that more than one infection could occur simultaneously, but that is not the norm. The more common problem is that a respiratory infection needs to be diagnosed properly in order to provide the appropriate advice and treatment.
RSV can be particularly severe for young children, resulting in a high number of hospitalizations. COVID still kills over 300 people every day in the United States and is causing trillions in productivity loss in the US alone. And while FLU numbers had decreased over the past few years, the numbers this year are alarming: Canada just crossed into a FLU epidemic, and the WHO reports “influenza activity increased steeply in recent weeks” in North America. Influenza (the real FLU) has the potential to get people very sick: The range of annual burden of influenza in the USA (in the years between 2010 and 2020 according to the CDC) varied widely, and between 140,000 and 710,000 patients required hospitalization each year, leading to 12,000-52,000 deaths each year.
The risk of severe disease is higher in the unvaccinated, the elderly, and people with chronic diseases (heart, lung, kidney, diabetes etc.), as well as in children. Therefore, if you or your child gets sick, you will want to test for all three virus types so you can inform your doctor and begin an appropriate treatment regimen and avoid spreading any of these viruses further.
AllClear now provides a way for you to test for all of these viruses simultaneously and receive highly accurate results in minutes.
Here are some quick facts about the test:
- lab-verified
- 94% to 97% accuracy
- Test only takes three minutes of your time
- Results in 30 minutes
- Walk-in testing at our Beverly and Boston test centers
- Costs just $149 to test for multiple viruses simultaneously
Perhaps you want to know whether your upper respiratory symptoms are a simple case of allergies so you can remain productive at work. Or maybe you want to find out whether you have a simple flu-like illness versus the real (and more worrisome) FLU, or COVID-19. Now you can schedule your Multiplex test today to get certainty and peace of mind in just minutes. The four-plex test detects COVID-19, Influenza A, Influenza B, and RSV.
The test allows you to differentiate among these different viruses. So now you can see not only whether you are sick, but which virus (or viruses) you currently have. The sample is collected with a nasal swab. Once you have the results, you can then contact your primary care physician to discuss next steps and treatment, especially if you have risk factors that may cause a particularly severe case.
At AllClear, we only use best-in-class PCR technology for rapid results in just minutes, meaning you can have 94 to 97 percent certainty that your results are correct. For comparison, a typical rapid flu test (antigen -based testing) can be just 50 percent accurate.
We believe you can never be too safe that’s why we also provide strep testing, mobile event covid testing, mobile workplace covid testing and mobile academic covid testing.
Book your test today to help keep your family members and coworkers safe.