Free combo flu, COVID tests available ahead of New Year's celebrations
As North Carolina deals with a spike in flu and COVID cases, Wake County is opening back up free drive-thru testing this week.
Wake County and Mako Medical are making it easier to check those coughs and sniffles to see what the problem really is.
Kirk of Kildaire Presbyterian Church in Cary offered free testing for flu and COVID from noon to 4 p.m Thursday. Kirk of Kildare will offer two more free testing clinics on Jan. 3 and Jan. 5.
According to those at the testing site, lines were not long. The most cars in line at a time was four.
Claudia Taylor was among them.
"It's incredibly important because it is allowing people to get tested who wouln't even think of it before," she said.
Getting tested as soon as possible is crucial to staying healthy in what doctors are considering a tridemic between flu, COVID and RSV.
Jessica Dixon, infectious disease specialist with WakeMed said that cold, flu and COVID symptoms mirror each other, and testing is the only sure-fire way to know what crud you're dealing with.
WakeMed is reporting 288 positive cases of the flu between December 22 and December 28.
As of the Wednesday, WakeMed had 56 patients with COVID-19 across the WakeMed 970-bed system, with seven of the 56 receiving care in the ICU.
A single swab test can tell whether you have COVID, flu, both or neither. Mako said results are available in 24 hours.
Experts are expecting another surge as people prepare for New Years festivities and are urging people to get tested and stay home if they are not feeling well.
"If you have any kind of respiratory symptoms – aches, headache or sore throat – you should stay away from people until your symptoms resolve," Dixon said.
North Carolina won't have updated statistics from the Department of Health and Human Services until next week, but according to the CDC, North Carolina has high flu activity as RSV and COVID continue to spread.
The United States has seen a jump in COVID cases the last two weeks, as cases have increased by 19 percent across the nation, with three omicron subvariants accounting for almost 90 percent of the cases across the northeast.
The tests are free, and you can pre-register online.
For more information, visit wakegov.com.
