COVID UPDATE 8/18 5:15PM PST

A new saliva test named, "SalivaDirect" may be very useful for identifying cases of COVID-19.

As an article published on CNBC yesterday explains, 

"​Dr. Scott Gottlieb told CNBC on Monday he believes Yale University’s saliva-based coronavirus test is an important development in the United States pandemic response. 

“I think it’s highly significant,” Gottlieb said on “Squawk Box,” following the Food and Drug Administration’s decision Saturday to grant the test emergency use authorization. 

The test, developed by Yale University, is being funded and used on NBA players and staff during the league’s restart in Florida. Yale described the test in a press release as “simpler, less expensive, and less invasive” than the common coronavirus testing method that involves a nasal swab." 

Dr. Gottlieb - who is the former chief of the FDA in America - also believe that more rapid COVID tests could become available in the near future. As the article says, 

"Beyond Yale’s saliva test, Gottlieb said he anticipates other additional variants of coronavirus tests to be available in the U.S. “within the next month.”
​
Specifically, Gottlieb said that lateral flow tests, which provide a readout on a device like a pregnancy test, could be coming onto the U.S. market soon. He said they are popular in other countries and, because they can deliver results in 10 to 15 minutes, could be used to test for the coronavirus in schools and offices. “You put a sample” on a piece of paper, and then you drop some liquid on paper, he said."

Click here to read the full article. 

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