ABOVE: PHOTO COURTESY OF SPECTRUM SOLUTIONS
There are now more options for COVID-19 testing as the US Food and Drug Administration gave emergency use authorization on April 13 for a saliva-based test, providing an alternative to the swab testing currently performed.
“You want to be in all types of situations with all types of options so that we can have as much testing as possible in whatever form is suitable,” Amesh Adalja, who works on infectious disease and pandemic preparedness at Johns Hopkins University and is not involved with the development of the test, tells the Associated Press.
Currently, testing for COVID-19 involves a healthcare professional inserting a swab into each nostril, one at a time, to the nasopharynx at the back of the nasal cavity, gently scraping the tissue to collect material, and sending off for analysis, according to UC Davis Health. This method is cumbersome as it needs ...