The new buzzword to watch this fall? Twindemic.
This is the theory catching wind in the media and in expert circles that we are headed for a feedback loop escalation of both Covid-19 and influenza, reinforcing each other, as we approach the coming cold and flu season.
The theory goes as follows: because of Covid-19, people are avoiding seeing their doctor for non-serious issues. Many people get their flu shots at their doctor. Hence, experts are expecting a recent-era record low in flu shot administration. That will result in much higher numbers of people getting the flu over coming months.
With more people coughing and spluttering and dealing with compromised immune systems, more people will become less wary about staying home if they feel a little under the weather. That’s a perfect storm for a rapid escalation of a second wave of Covid-19 with potentially disastrous effects. But let’s not forget that the flu can be devastating in its own right.
Together, with both going wild, we could see the worst several months in modern history in terms of people taken seriously ill and in need of hospitalization all at the same time. That could overwhelm our healthcare system at key points and result in the horrors that became so common in the news about NYC in April, with people dying in the parking lot of the hospital and the city morgues overflowing.
That’s hardly a pretty picture, and we will need to find a way to avoid it. One company that could play a critical role in that escape is Allstar Health Brands Inc (OTCMKTS:ALST).
A Starring Role
Allstar is set up to play a starring role as a company able to make a key difference, and see a major potential interest from market participants given its current positioning in the PPE and testing space.
ALST frames itself as a specialty pharmaceutical and nutritional supplements company. One of its core assets at this point is its partnership with TPT Global Tech, a technology and solutions company. The two companies are collaborating to create and distribute the QuickLAB module, a rapid testing solution for Covid-19.
Testing is going to be a huge facet of any solution that can head off the Twindemic disaster described above. The two companies had already recently signed an agreement for Mexico and other Latin American countries through TPT Global Tech’s partner New Orbit Technologies. Now, as of this week, they have signed an expanded agreement to bring QuickLAB distribution to Canada and US to add to the existing Non-Exclusive Distribution Agreement for Mexico and other Latin American countries.
“We are very pleased to announce the expansion of our initial non-exclusive partnership agreement to now include Canada and the US. AllStar Health Brands’ goal is to work with TPT Medtech for both the geographic expansion of the QuikLAB modules within the US and Canada and also offer the best testing technologies within the QuikLAB modules. Both companies have a shared vision to make one-stop, mass testing for Covid-19, a near-term reality in the Americas,” stated Dr. Daniel Bagi, President of AllStar.
According to the release, AllStar believes that given the high Covid-19 infection rates around the world, and the ability to set up the QuikLAB testing modules at almost any location, the QuikLAB option may be part of the solution in combating the effects of this pandemic.
The company notes that the QuikLAB testing modules offer a fast, complete testing option, at a rapid throughput, – up to 50 tests/hour, using either the PCR or antibody tests or both currently available on the market. The goal is to provide results within minutes to a few short hours, so appropriate treatment or isolation protocols can be recommended based on the results of the testing.
The Next Step
This move is a logical continuation of ALST’s operational and strategic focus over recent months.
According to company materials, AllStar is a specialty Health Care Products Company dedicated to improving health and quality of life by offering select products, including medical devices, nutritional supplements, over the counter remedies and medicines all across the Americas and Europe. AllStar’s goal is to bring additional products to the market and provide new, innovative options for better health and wellbeing.
However, since the blossoming nightmare of the pandemic got started back in February, the company has been a micro-cap leadership OTC idea in terms of pushing to provide solutions for communities faced with this terrible bug. This includes sales of front-line products, working with qualified overseas suppliers to provide PPE (Personal Protective Equipment) as demand is expected to increase sharply with the gradual re-opening of the economy.
Bagi stated back in May that “There is much uncertainty with exactly how and when the pandemic will allow the economies of the US states and other countries to re-open. What seems to be a given is that the ‘new normal’ will include the vastly increased use of PPEs for most workers on a regular basis, and that this need will continue for quite some time, perhaps even years. ALST has already begun distributing protective masks and is expanding its product line to include gowns and gloves to established businesses and various types of medical clinics such as optometrists, long-term care facilities and hospitals. We have been working hard to establish strong supply and distribution channels for a reliable and quality source of these PPEs.”
Since then, the company has gotten increasingly involved in the testing niche. Looking ahead, AllStar ( ALST ) says it plans to provide several options for FDA, EUA-approved rapid Covid-19 anti-body tests, and PCR tests for the TPT Medtech QuikLab modules. This could make its QuickLAB module a kind of one-stop-shop solution for communities with less than adequate testing supplies anywhere in the western hemisphere now that its partnership extends through the US and Canada.
As we move toward the potential for a Twindemic disaster, expect supplies of everything – including tests – to become strained. That should expand market demand for anyone capable and ready to step in and help out. ALST is perfectly positioned to do very well by doing very good.
