A Brooklyn bio-tech company is reimagining the way we take
COVID-19 tests, using saliva instead of a swab.
The molecular biologists at
Mirimus say using saliva is more
efficient, cheaper, quicker and just as accurate as a nasal swab.
In the test, up to 24 individual samples are all tested
together. That pool specimen will now get tested as any individual specimen would.
So, if it's negative, now you have a situation where all the samples that were
collected and pooled, are negative.
If it's positive, the samples are re-tested one-by-one.
The system is being used by hundreds of schools and
universities across the U.S., major corporations and by the NCAA during college
basketball season.
President and CEO Prem Premsrirut says saliva has a higher
viral load that can be detected earlier. She hopes to make the tests more
accessible to the public.
“What we've seen so far is so promising. Bottom line is that
you can put a brush fire out before it becomes a forest fire,” says Premsrirut.