Covid-19 Saliva Test Partly Funded by NBA Gets FDA Authorization

A Covid-19 test that processes saliva samples and doesn’t require special swabs or collection devices received emergency-use authorization by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Saturday.

Research for the test was done by Yale University’s School of Public Health and was partly funded by the National Basketball Association and the union representing NBA players.

The rapid detection test, known as SalivaDirect, “is groundbreaking in terms of efficiency and avoiding shortages of crucial test components like reagents,” FDA Commissioner Stephen Hahn said in a statement.

The FDA says while it has seen “variable performance” in tests using saliva, Yale’s test ...