Amidst the ongoing coronavirus pandemic outbreak, a ray of hope that shines through is FDA’s approval of first ever saliva based coronavirus detection test from the Rutgers lab, RUCDR Infinite Biologics. The Rutgers University reportedly announced that the Food and Drug Administration had given a nod to its innovation in the field of coronavirus testing.

According to reliable sources, FDA positioned its emergency-use authorization to support the advanced invention of the University’s lab. It has been reported that the saliva based COVID-19 test aims to consider expanded testing and safety for the medical professionals conducting the screening.

Moreover, the test, which has been developed in alliance with Accurate Diagnostic Labs and Spectrum Solutions, would be made available through various healthcare facilities associated with the university. For the records, Spectrum Solutions is a Utah based company which produces various similar saliva devices for DNA-based ancestry testing services.

Prior to the introduction of this test, health professionals were required to take samples from patient’s throat and nose. Different hospitals and clinics had also instructed the professionals to make use of disposable gloves and mask after being in contact with a suspected patient, which had been straining the already stretched medical supplies. However, the novel innovation of this test would require patients to spit in a tube several times before handing it to the professionals for testing, making it less likely for them to get infected.

Commenting on the matter, the Chief Operating Officer and Director of technology development at the Rutgers lab, Andrew Brooks stated that the saliva testing would help with the worldwide dearth of swabs for sampling along with increasing the testing of patients. Besides, the test would also not require healthcare experts to be put at risk while collecting the samples for detection. He further added that saliva testing will also play a pivotal role for people who are in quarantine as they are unaware of the duration of the lockdown and quarantine period.

As the cases of infection are gradually increasing, the FDA has put forth instructions for the lab to conduct test only in a health care setting under high supervision of a trained healthcare provider.

Source credit: https://thehill.com/policy/healthcare/public-global-health/492623-fda-approves-first-saliva-based-coronavirus-test