Meridian Life Science Whitepapers

This year’s winter season is anticipated to be a difficult one as experts warn of a “twindemic” with surges of both influenza and COVID-19 expected. The drop in seasonal temperature combined with people staying indoors traditionally creates a sharp increase in transmission of winter respiratory viruses such as flu and RSV. However, last year due to social distancing and mask-wearing policies, the flu season experienced a reprieve with historically low rates of influenza recorded. In contrast, this year as communities re-open and many of those policies are relaxed, experts predict large increases in transmission for COVID-19 and flu simultaneously. For a medical system that has already been under tremendous strain for the past 18 months, this news is concerning. Using tools such as multiplexing assays for flu, COVID, and RSV to diagnose and treat patients faster and more effectively becomes a necessary next step.

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