Tarrant County reports that a resident has contracted both COVID-19 and the flu
At least one Tarrant County resident has tested positive for both COVID-19 and the flu, a county health official confirmed Tuesday.
Vinny Taneja, the county’s public health director, said officials need to make sure this person can get medication for the flu and then follow protocols for coronavirus, such as quarantining and staying home as much as possible.
“It doesn’t surprise me that somebody tested positive both for COVID and for flu,” Taneja said.
Flu season officially starts Oct. 1.
Taneja said it will be difficult for the county to have both a coronavirus and a flu outbreak at the same time because it will be hard to differentiate between the illnesses based on symptoms. The county is currently looking at which companies can provide both the flu and coronavirus tests in one sitting.
“We’re preparing for it,” he said. “A lot of our labs that we’re working with are looking at dual tests.”
One of the concerns that comes with combining both tests is how is it going to be paid for, he said. CARES Act money pays for coronavirus tests, but if coupled with a flu test, it would be unclear who pays for that, Taneja said.
To combat this dilemma, Taneja said, the county’s health lab is validating a way to run both tests on the same sample, which would also be free of charge to the public.
If a person tests negative for coronavirus but still has symptoms, Taneja said, the public health officials still don’t know if they would recommend going to a doctor to get a flu test or other respiratory panels.
He does hope to have a clear answer on that soon.
This story was originally published September 29, 2020 at 6:00 PM.
