ST. LOUIS – The Governor of Missouri calls it a game-changer in the battle against COVID 19. Wednesday Washington University announced its new saliva COVID test received FDA approval. It will be given to incoming students at Wash U starting next week. The saliva test is cheaper, faster, will be available on a wide scale and could be the key to keeping universities and schools open to students on campus. The Director of the Genome Technology Access Center on the Wash U Medical Campus told Fox 2’s Mandy Murphey this test will eliminate the supply chain problems that have plagued testing across the country.
People will be more likely to get a saliva test rather than a nasal swab. Richard Head says Wash U is working with the governor’s office to make the test widely available in just a few weeks to a month at most. Several other labs across the state are joining in. Head says the saliva test is just as accurate as the nasal swab test. It may also be able to detect the flu and other viruses at the same time. It is believed this testing can easily be used on a massive scale across the country and around the world.
Full interview with the Director of the Genome Technology Access Center on the Wash U Medical Campus on saliva test approved by the FDA:
