A Covid-19 test developed by SUNY Upstate Medical University in Syracuse and Quadrant Biosciences has been approved for emergency use by the federal Food and Drug Administration.
The saliva swab diagnostic test has been used by SUNY to test students for Covid-19. Instead of the usual nasal swab test, which is usually administered by a health care professional, the saliva swab test is administered by the patient. They swab the inside of their mouths to collect the saliva samples, which are processed at SUNY Upstate Medical University’s laboratory.
“With this approval, the innovation developed by Upstate Medical and Quadrant Biosciences will be leveraged on a national scale,” Malatras said. “This quick, noninvasive testing protocol — which has already boosted SUNY’s testing capacity to 120,000 tests per week — will now help communities across the country better pinpoint and contain Covid-19.”
The saliva test has proven to be a key part of SUNY’s response to outbreaks on some campuses, including Oneonta and Oswego in central New York. The state Department of Health approved the use of the test for surveillance purposes, which allowed SUNY to expand its testing of students at multiple campuses.