First Saliva Test for COVID-19 Approved by FDA
TUESDAY, April 14, 2020 (HealthDay News) –The first saliva test for COVID-19 was approved Monday by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
The test, developed by Rutgers University researchers, provides another testing option and could lower healthcare workers’ risk of coronavirus infection, the Associated Press reported.
At first, the test will be available at hospitals and clinics affiliated with the university.
Currently, screening for COVID-19 requires a healthcare worker to take a swab from a patient’s nose or throat. For the new saliva test, patients spit into a plastic tube and then give the tube back to a healthcare worker for laboratory testing.
“This prevents healthcare professionals from having to actually be in the face of somebody that is symptomatic,” Andrew Brooks, who directs the Rutgers lab that developed the test, told the AP.
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