On Mar. 30, 2021, BD (Becton, Dickinson) announced the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) granted emergency use authorization (EUA) for a new, rapid antigen test that can detect SARS-CoV-2, influenza A and influenza B in a single test. The BD Veritor System for Rapid Detection of SARS-CoV-2 & Flu A+B assay takes about 15 minutes to run on the BD Veritorﾙ Plus System and distinguishes between SARS-CoV-2, influenza A and influenza B, by providing definitive positive or negative individual digital display readouts for all three.

BD plans to launch the new test this summer for the 2021-2022 flu season. The test is intended for individuals who are suspected by a health care provider of having COVID-19, influenza A or influenza B within six days of symptom onset. The test follows the same, simple workflow as other rapid tests on the BD Veritor™ Plus System with a result in about 15 minutes.

There are over 70,000 active BD Veritor™ Systems in use at hospitals, clinician offices, urgent care centers, nursing homes, retail pharmacies, schools, businesses and other testing locations in all 50 U.S. states. The BD Veritor™ System, which is slightly larger than a cell phone, has one-button functionality, workflow flexibility and ease-of-use make it an ideal solution for settings without laboratory personnel. It also offers customers real-time reporting capabilities through the optional BD Synapsys™ Informatics Solution, providing them with the ability to easily report data for disease monitoring and surveillance purposes.