FDA authorizes at-home coronavirus test that uses your spit

The Food and Drug Administration has authorized a second at-home test for the coronavirus — one that can detect the virus using saliva samples.

The test is made by a Rutgers University laboratory, RUCDR Infinite Biologics, in partnership with Spectrum Solutions and Accurate Diagnostic Labs. The Rutgers test uses a saliva collection device and must be sent back to the lab for testing. You can only receive the test if it’s been ordered through a physician.

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“This provides an additional option for the easy, safe, and convenient collection of samples required for testing without traveling to a doctor’s office, hospital, or testing site,” said FDA Commissioner Dr. Stephen M. Hahn in a statement.

The test costs around $100, and the lab will be able to process around 20,000 a day, according to The New York Times.

The Rutgers test is the second at-home test to get an emergency use authorization from the FDA. An authorization allows doctors and public health officials to use unapproved methods to battle a public health crisis that may have no alternatives, such as the coronavirus pandemic.

The first at-home test, from Pixel, uses a nasal swab and saline.

For the latest updates on the novel coronavirus outbreak, visit the World Health Organization’s COVID-19 page.

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