Is it the flu or Covid? New at-home tests can test for both at the same time

With flu season getting underway and Covid-19 still circulating and the holidays looming, for the first time there are new home tests — available at pharmacies without a prescription, that can test for both simultaneously, Rob Stein reports for NPR.

“The tests are very reliable — they rarely say someone’s positive when they’re really negative or vice versa, according to the FDA. If you test negative but are still having symptoms that feel like Covid or the flu a couple of days later, doctors recommend taking a second test,” Stein writes.

The tests cost about $15 each, which is about the same as a Covid-19 test, Stein reports. And within 15 minutes, the test will indicate whether you’re positive for Covid-19 or one of two strains of the flu virus.

“The FDA has given the green light to nine over-the-counter flu and COVID tests so far, including the first that recently received full FDA authorization. The others received a more contingent “emergency use authorization,” writes Stein.

Dr. Greg Martin, who studies tests at Emory University, told Stein that these tests will allow people to get appropriate treatment early, whether that be Paxlovid for Covid or Tamiflu for the flu.

Dr. Chaz Langelier, an infectious disease physician at the University of California, San Francisco, told Stein that these tests will help people more effectively prevent transmission to others.