A laboratory in Utah said on Nov. 23 they have developed a combined test that can detect four types of viruses: COVID-19, influenza type A and B, and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV).
The tests cost $140 each and would be ordered from clinics and physicians. It’s currently not available for consumer purchase. ARUP Laboratories has COVID-specific tests that uses saliva samples. Because this is a combined test, it uses samples taken from a deep nasal swab. It can also be done with the nostrils and the back of the throat. People can expect test results within 1-4 days after the lab receives the samples.
Dr. Adam Barker, director of ARUP Laboratories, told The Epoch Times this combined testing would save people money and time.
“So why we really wanted to get this test online is if you order RSV, Flu and COVID all separately… It’s about 3 or 4 times the cost of this test. So, we hope insurers see that and realize it’s more cost effective to do this one test.”
Barker said they teamed up with tech company Thermo Fisher. The project took three to four months to complete.
“The accuracy of the acid, so not getting false negatives is about 99.2 percent. And then the specificity is about equal. That would be not giving you out a false positive. So it’s above 99 percent.”
Barker said that they can process about 15,000 of these tests per day.
Reporting by David Lam
