Dr. John Berberian Addresses Concerns About Painful COVID Testing
Some patients avoid COVID testing because they are worried it will hurt.
With cases once more on the rise, COVID experts are recommending patients experiencing COVID symptoms get tested for the virus. Patients who have gotten a COVID vaccine are still susceptible to the virus, though most experts believe the symptoms and severity will be lessened. Both vaccinated and non-vaccinated individuals can still pass the virus on to others, so testing in order to know COVID status is important to avoid spread as much as possible.
Recently, Dr. John Berberian talked about some of the concerns patients have that stops them from testing. Dr. John Berberian is the Founder and CEO of HSD Consultants and has experience working directly with labs and medical experts. “We are seeing a lot of people nervous about being tested because they saw the YouTube or Facebook video about how far the swabs go in,” he says. “It can get in the way of people choosing to test when they see symptoms because they are concerned about the level of pain or whether it could cause damage to their nasal passages.”
The NPS Flex Swab, for example, is only five inches in total length with only two inches in the neck length of the swab. These soft and flexible plastic swabs are made here in the USA using Injection Mold technology at the speed of 2 million swabs a month to provide an adequate supply.
According to Dr. John Berberian, the NPS Flex Swab offers cutting-edge technology and innovative engineering that makes it more comfortable and accurate than the initial swabs.
“We want people to know we are taking their comfort levels seriously,” he says. “It can be nerve-racking when you think you might be sick with this unpredictable virus and you are nervous about the testing. We want to make sure these convenient swabs are widely available so people don’t even think about the testing process at all.”
A deeper sample is often more accurate, he explains. However, the tests shouldn’t cause pain and will only last a few seconds. The nasopharyngeal swab is considered very safe with almost non-existent complication rates. While millions of tests have been administered in the US alone, very few issues with the tests have occurred. The goal is to get a fast, accurate, and comfortable test in place to help slow the spread of COVID as much as possible, Dr. John Berberian says.