FDA’s New At-Home COVID/Flu Test

Fact checked on May 18, 2022 by Rich Scherr, a journalist and fact-checker with more than three decades of experience.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has authorized the first-ever home test for people with symptoms of COVID-19, the flu, and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), giving users a one-stop approach to help diagnose their condition.

Consumers don’t need a prescription to access the first-of-its-kind test, which is called the Labcorp Seasonal Respiratory Virus RT-PCR DTC Test.

“While the FDA has now authorized many COVID-19 tests without a prescription, this is the first test authorized for flu and RSV, along with COVID-19, where an individual can self-identify their need for a test, order it, collect their sample and send it to the lab for testing, without consulting a healthcare professional,” Jeff Shuren, M.D., J.D., director of the FDA’s Center for Devices and Radiological Health, said in a statement.

Here’s a closer look at the new test, how it works, its cost, availability, and more.

The process of purchasing, administering, and obtaining results from the new Labcorp Seasonal Respiratory Virus RT-PCR DTC Test is relatively straightforward, though slightly more time consuming than the at-home COVID-19 tests that were previously made available to the public.

The seasonal respiratory virus collection kits can be pur …