First saliva-based coronavirus diagnosis test gets FDA approval. Here’s how it works

The first saliva-based coronavirus test has been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, media outlets reported.

Rutgers University researchers said the saliva test could help with the testing and personal protective equipment shortage, according to a statement. The tests could also help prevent infecting more health care workers.

“It means we no longer have to put health care professionals at risk for infection by performing nasopharyngeal or oropharyngeal collections,” Andrew Brooks, chief operating officer and director of technology development at RUCDR said. “We can preserve precious personal protective equipment for use in patient care instead of testing. We can significantly increase the number of people tested each and every day as self-collection of saliva is more quick and scalable than swab collections. All of this combined will have a tremendous impact on testing in New Jersey and across the United States.”

The test was approved under the FDA’s emergency powers, according to the statement.

The current COVID-19 test requires taking swabs from a patient’s nose or throat and hospital staff to throw away masks and gloves after use, NBC News reported. The saliva test would require spitting into a tube and having it tested in a lab, NBC reported.

“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 in the statement. “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. This will allow health care workers to release themselves from quarantine and safely come back to work.”

Brooks told CNBC that “we’re returning results in from 24 to 48 hours” after they get to the lab.

Rutgers has spoken to the White House about “any specific hurdles to expanding testing and enabling other laboratories to benefit from the accomplishment,” according to the statement.

The tests will be available at Rutgers-affiliated hospitals and clinics, according to the statement. Starting Wednesday, it will also be available at a drive-thru site in Edison, New Jersey.

This story was originally published April 14, 2020 at 9:38 AM with the headline "First saliva-based coronavirus diagnosis test gets FDA approval. Here’s how it works."