FDA authorizes rapid spit test for Covid-19

Over the weekend, the Food and Drug Administration cleared a new and inexpensive saliva test to detect Covid-19. The emergency use designation was granted in hopes of expanding testing capacity, STAT’s Ed Silverman and Andrew Joseph write.

The test, called Saliva Direct, was developed by researchers at the Yale School of Public Health — and can run about 90 samples in less than three hours. In larger labs with automation capabilities, that sample size can be much higher.

In a somewhat unique move, Yale has plans to open source its testing protocol, so that other laboratories around the country might use it. And, because the reagents cost less than $5, the thought is that labs can charge about $10 per sample — dramatically expanding access to rapid Covid-19 testing.