Key Takeaways

Research supports that COVID-19 saliva tests are effective for the detection of COVID-19.
COVID-19 Saliva tests increase testing accessibility to testing and are cost-effective for the healthcare system.

A Closer Look

COVID-19 saliva test: the initial idea:

Saliva Tests have been used before to detect the presence of RNA from viruses.

Dr. Johnson-Obaseki was using saliva testing to research HPV cancers.
This motivated her and her colleagues to discuss the potential of using saliva tests to detect the RNA of SARS-CoV-2.

Steps Dr. Johnson-Obaseki took to get involved:

Combination of discussing the project with past relationships and reaching out to form new ones.
She worked previously with DNA Genotek and the director of Ottawa’s testing centers.
She reached out to the National Microbiology Laboratory in Winnipeg.

Effectiveness of the COVID-19 saliva test:

Her study’s findings support the findings from many other similar studies.
Sampled just under 2000 people and obtained 70 positive COVID-19 cases.
34 of the positive cases in her study were deemed positive by both the swab and the saliva test.
22 were positive with the swab test alone while 14 were positive with the saliva test alone.
The results suggest the swab test picked up slightly more positives than the saliva test.
She emphasized that no testing method thus far is perfect.

Benefits Of The COVID-19 Saliva Test
Increased access to testing overall:

Addresses barriers that inner-city groups, people from rural communities, and vulnerable populations face accessing testing centers.
Less invasive for children.
People with jobs that don’t permit them to miss hours to get tested.
Optimization of resources.
Healthcare professionals are not required to administer the test.
Less PPE would be required at testing centers.
Reduced volume of people at testing centers.
Long wait times deter some people from getting tested.

Current Canadian situation with COVID-19 saliva testing:

BC approved saliva testing for children from kindergarten to Grade 12.
Toronto rolled out a pilot program using COVID-19 saliva tests for people under 26 and those who can’t tolerate nasal swabs.
Dr. Johnson-Obaseki suspects other provinces and cities will follow.