FDA authorizes a 5th saliva-based test for Covid-19

The FDA (US Food and Drug Administration) has granted emergency-use authorization to Yale School of Public Health for its new coronavirus diagnostic test, The Guardian reports.

The new test is called SalivaDirect and does not require a nose or throat swab. Instead, saliva is collected in any sterile container, and in addition, it does not require a separate nucleic acid extraction step, making it easier and more efficient to use.

This is the fifth saliva-based test that the FDA has authorized.