Nasopharyngeal swabs have been the go-to test in identifying COVID-19 infections, but could a simple saliva test be enough?
The Journal of the American Medical Association has found that self-administered saliva tests are nearly as accurate as the uncomfortable nasal swabs.
The research was first published in the Annals of Internal Medicine, which reviewed 37 studies with 7332 samples that found that the saliva test was only 3.4% less accurate than nasopharyngeal swabs.
A second published article looked at 16 other studies that involved 5922 people and found that both tests had nearly the same results, JAMA reported.
Experts with the association suggest that testing centers should consider the saliva tests, especially in mass screenings.
Click here to read more about the research.
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Cox Media Group
