This weekend, the FDA issued emergency approval for a COVID-19 saliva test developed by Yale School of Public Health. Researchers say the SalivaDirect test could make virus screening easier and more frequent because it would be much cheaper.
Anne Willey, a researcher on the project, said her team is already in touch with labs in Connecticut and nationwide to see how soon residents might be able to be screened going to work or school.
“Ideally at least twice a week, if not every other day. If we can have frequent screenings, we can start detecting the virus before people become infectious,” Willey said. “So we can find the virus early on, we can isolate those people, and hopefully prevent future outbreaks.”
Yale will distribute the test to any interested lab for free. It’s essentially sharing a test “recipe,” so labs can purchase their own “ingredient” supply and keep costs down. SalivaDirect does not require the same scarce items used in current tests, like nasal swabs.
Willey said Yale is working with Jackson Labs to figure out a way to automate sample analysis and boost capacity for faster results. To help speed up FDA approval, the NBA partnered with Yale to supply $500,000 and anonymous saliva samples from asymptomatic basketball players.
This is the fifth saliva test to get emergency approval from the FDA, but Willey said what makes SalivaDirect unique is that Yale is able to share the test as if it were a distributor. She said Yale will not turn a profit, though.