A new saliva test may replace having a cotton swab stuck up your nose

The US Food and Drug Administration has approved its emergency use.

“The saliva tests currently available commercially are designed for in-home use,” said Laura Renwck of the Department of Health & Environmental Control.

“As the tests are available for use at large-scale testing events, we will look to pursue them as a testing option for our mobile testing events held throughout the state.”

Other health officials say the test has proven to be about 90% accurate.

After you provide a sample of your saliva in a sterile container, the test is checked for the presence of covid-19 genetic material.

SalivaDirect is the 5th saliva test that has received FDA authorization.

Saliva tests can help healthcare workers, too.

They typically have to stand close to you to perform the nasal swab test.

What makes it unique?

You don’t need an extra step to separate genetic material or nucleic acid from the sample.

And labs don’t need nucleic acid extraction kits which have been hard to get.