Today, we received some very encouraging news in the battle against the COVID-19 pandemic.
BREAKING: Great news.
SalivaDirect received approval this morning from the @US_FDA.
This could be one the first major game changers in fighting the pandemic. Rarely am I this enthusiastic. Here’s why.
Follow if interested.
— Andy Slavitt @ 🏡 (@ASlavitt) August 15, 2020
According to Andy Slavitt of the “In the Bubble” podcast, the FDA approved a new COVID-19 test that gives you results based on your saliva. The test was funded by Yale University and the NBA, and is expected to be available within the next few weeks.
What makes this breakthrough so significant is how cheap the test will be. Slavitt would also state that the test costs around $4 dollars to make, and will be $10 dollars to the general public as opposed to the usual $100 dollars for the current test.
The cost of the materials are about $4. This test should be very cheap even if you add labor and overhead. Not the $100 for current tests.
This is important for the next reason— so important…
— Andy Slavitt @ 🏡 (@ASlavitt) August 15, 2020
The test is also said to give results within minutes.
Pete Thamel of Yahoo Sports spoke to one Power 5 athletic director, and this director would plead with Thamel that this is a big game-changer for fall college athletics.
A Power Five AD I spoke to today mentioned the importance of this development: "That is a big deal. If you can really get a real-time test that’s reliable, that’s a big difference maker." https://t.co/ns71boAcWm
— Pete Thamel (@PeteThamel) August 15, 2020
“This is a big deal. If you can really get a real-time test that’s reliable, that’s a big difference maker.”
Not only will this reduce the cost of testing for football programs in particular, but it will also give them the opportunity to test their players more frequently than they have been in recent weeks.
This could allow schools to test their players all the way up until game day, reducing the risk of an outbreak during a game between two schools from different regions of the nation.
This could potentially be what helps college sports proceed this fall, and it comes just in time as we are only four weeks away from many teams opening the season around the country.
