Free RSV and flu tests will be offered at a Delaware County COVID testing site starting in January
Free flu and RSV tests will be offered to Delaware County residents at the Yeadon COVID-19 test site beginning Jan. 3.
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Delaware County is expanding one of its COVID-19 test sites to include free RSV and flu tests for county residents.
Beginning Jan. 3, free RSV and flu tests with same-day results will be available at the Delaware County Wellness Center at 125 Chester Ave. in Yeadon. Test site hours are 8:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, and 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Saturdays. No tests are offered on Thursdays or Sundays.
“This cold and flu season has been the most serious season in recent memory,” said Melissa Lyon, director of Delaware County’s health department, in a statement. “Access to free RSV and flu testing is one more tool we have to ensure a safe and healthy winter season for all residents.”
The free tests are part of a partnership with Personic Health Care, which operates COVID test sites in the Philadelphia region.
Typically, RSV and flu tests are only available through hospitals, urgent care centers, or doctor’s offices. Providing them for free at the Yeadon COVID test site will make the tests more accessible to people who are uninsured, immigrants, and others who are reluctant to seek medical care at traditional health care facilities, Lyon said.
Greater access to testing may also alleviate pressure on hospitals, which have been overwhelmed with cases of RSV, flu, and COVID-19, a virus trifecta dubbed the “tridemic” or “tripledemic.”
» READ MORE: Philadelphia area hospitals prepare for potential post-holiday “tripledemic” cases
“More than anything, what the pandemic has taught us is that robust testing services are integral in mitigating the spread of respiratory illnesses,” said Azmat Husain, chief medical officer and cofounder of Personic, in a statement.
While cases of RSV and flu have dropped in recent weeks, hospitals are preparing for a potential post-holiday uptick in illness, as single-digit temperatures forced families and friends to gather indoors.
Doctors have urged people to get vaccinated against COVID and the flu, wear a mask indoors, and stay home if they feel unwell.