The at-home flu and COVID test combo is now available: Does it work?

“This is really important because if someone gets the flu, we can actually intervene and prescribe Tamiflu or other antiviral medications that will benefit the patient,” Dr. Scott Roberts, an infectious disease specialist at Yale Medicine.

This fall, the Food and Drug Administration granted the first marketing authorization for a combined flu and COVID-19 test, the Healgen Rapid Check COVID-19/Flu A&B Antigen Test.

There are also a number of combination COVID-19 and flu tests that received emergency use authorization (EUA) from the FDA last winter. including those from iHealth, OSOM and Lucira, which cost between $25 and $30 online.

Healgen’s marketing approval means the product has undergone more thorough safety review, but it is not yet widely available to consumers. The other combination tests approved by the FDA are comparable, experts said.

The tests work from the age of two. People under 14 should have the test carried out by an adult.

The combination tests work best when people are symptomatic, Dr. Sabrina Assoumou, an associate professor at Boston University School of Medicine and an infectious disease physician at Boston Medical Center.

“You have to have symptoms if you reach for it,” Assoumou said. “Because if you use it and you don’t have symptoms, it may not be as accurate.”

According to the FDA, the Healgen test correctly identified 99 percent of negative and 92 percent of positive samples of SARS-CoV-2 samples; Additionally, 99.9 percent of negative influenza A and B samples and 92.5 percent of positive influenza A and B samples were identified.

In comparison, the Lucira test correctly identified 99.9 percent of negative and 88.3 percent of positive COVID-19 samples; In addition, 90 percent of positive and 99.3 percent of negative flu A samples were identified. For flu B, which is not currently widespread, 99.9 percent of negative samples were identified.

Experts recommend testing at the onset of symptoms and again every 48 hours if the first test is negative and symptoms worsen.

Roberts said his biggest concern with home testing is whether people are taking the tests correctly.

“Similar to COVID-19, there is a risk of a false negative result if someone perhaps doesn’t swipe far enough up their nose or the test has expired or the ingredients have dried out, for whatever reason,” he said.

False alarms are less worrisome.

“People who want to know which one they have (COVID or flu) would find it helpful to get a positive result for one and not the other because the symptoms overlap so much that they seek treatment,” said Dr. Paul Sax, clinical director of the Division of Infectious Diseases at Brigham and Women’s Hospital.

The most important thing to remember, Roberts says, is to follow the instructions on the package carefully, as each test is slightly different.

And as with any time of year, Assoumou recommends viewing testing as part of a “layered approach” to preventing respiratory illnesses like flu and COVID-19.

“Testing is very important, but it’s … one of those levels,” she said. Vaccinations, testing, mask requirements and ventilation of indoor spaces where people gather “are all the different measures that will help us get to the other side.”

Izzy Bryars can be reached at [email protected]. Follow her @izzybryars.