Stability of SARS-CoV-2 RNA in Nonsupplemented Saliva
Isabel M. Ott, Madison S. Strine, Anne E. Watkins, Maikel Boot, Chaney C. Kalinich, Christina A. Harden, Chantal B. F. Vogels, Arnau Casanovas‐Massana, Adam J. Moore, M. Catherine Muenker, Maura Nakahata, Maria Tokuyama, Allison Nelson, John Fournier, Santos Bermejo, Melissa Campbell, Rupak Datta, Charles S. Dela Cruz, Shelli Farhadian, Albert I. Ko, Akiko Iwasaki, Nathan D. Grubaugh, Craig B. Wilen, Anne L. Wyllie
Abstract
D espite increased diagnostic testing capacity for severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), testing in many countries, including the United States, is still inadequate for slowing the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic. Many persons still do not have access to SARS-CoV-2 testing, and for some that do, an imbalance between supply and demand at large testing centers leads to long delays before results are received. The demand for testing will only increase as many schools, colleges, and workplaces reopen. Ideally, specialized population surveillance-oriented testing would require minimal diversion of resources from clinical diagnostic testing, be affordable and scalable, and enable rapid and reliable virus identifi cation for persons with asymptomatic or subclinical infections. Thus, simplifying the sample collection and testing workfl ow is critical.