FDA approves first saliva-based coronavirus test
Source: The Hill
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved the first saliva-based coronavirus test Monday under its emergency powers, Rutgers University announced.
The FDA deployed its emergency-use authorization to approve of the test from Rutgers’ lab RUCDR Infinite Biologics, informing the university of its approval on Saturday. The new saliva-based test aims to allow for increased testing and safety for the health professionals conducting screening.
Current testing requires health professionals to take samples from a patient’s nose or throat. But with this test, patients will spit in a tube several times and give it to the health professional for testing, making it less risky for them to get infected, Andrew Brooks, the chief operating officer and director of technology development at the Rutgers’ lab, said in the university’s release.
“Saliva testing will help with the global shortage of swabs for sampling and increase testing of patients, and it will not require health care professionals to be put at risk to collect samples,” Brooks said. “Saliva testing will also be important for people who are in quarantine because they don’t know how long it will be until they are no longer infectious.”
Read more: https://thehill.com/policy/healthcare/public-global-health/492623-fda-approves-first-saliva-based-coronavirus-test
The test, which was developed in partnership with Spectrum Solutions and Accurate Diagnostic Labs, will be available through hospitals and clinics associated with the university. Spectrum Solutions is a Utah-based company that produces similar saliva devices for DNA-based ancestry testing services.
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Glad I made the cut
N/T
