Researchers: Cheaper, faster COVID-19 saliva tests could be useful at colleges
INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — Emergency approval of a saliva-based COVID-19 test used by the NBA could be a game changer for college campuses and schools, researchers said.
The “SalivaDirect” test was developed by researchers at the Yale School of Public Health and granted emergency use authorization by the FDA, according to a news release issued Saturday by the university.
Infection prevention specialists touted the saliva-based diagnostic test as cheaper, faster and less invasive than nasal swab tests, and comparable in accuracy.
Nurses trained in sample collection are required for nasal swab tests; spitting into a tube does not require professional assistance.
Results are ready within hours, which could be key in preventing asymptomatic spread among students.
SalivaDirect is anticipated to be rolled out at a cost of $10 per sample, according to Chantal Vogels, a Yale postdoctoral fellow who led the laboratory development and validation of the test.
“With these school reopenings, it’s really important that testing is frequent… I definitely think using SalivaDirect will help the testing be more available and scalable,” Vogels told News 8.
At least three central Indiana universities already offer FDA-authorized saliva testing options for students returning to campus: Indiana University, Purdue University and Ball State University.
Saliva testing was “really the only way that we could do surveillance” testing among students on IU campuses, according to Dr. Cole Beeler, medical director of infection prevention at Indiana University Hospital.
Beeler works on the “IU Restart Committee” charged with advising university officials on when to resume normal operations. Experts are aiming to test students weekly.
“Just given the amount of students at some of our larger institutions, [including] IU and Purdue, developing any sort of algorithm or process where [nasopharhyngeal samples] could be collected by nurses trained in this was pretty much a nonstarter. Saliva was pretty much the only way we could go,” he told News 8.
College students required to undergo nasal swab testing can’t avoid the pain if they wish to return to campus. But discomfort could be a deterrent to testing among the general public.
“There are people that want to be tested. But there are a lot of people that don’t want anything up their nose. I’m one of them,” said Shana Perry, a lifelong Indianapolis resident who was offered a COVID-19 test at work.
She declined because she believed inserting the nasal swab would be painful.
“If they get (a saliva test option), I’m sure a lot of people will go ahead and get tested,” Perry said.