No more swabs: Arden site first in NC to offer saliva-based COVID-19 test

A local laboratory has become the first in the state to offer a saliva-based COVID-19 testing developed by the Yale School of Public Health. 

CommunityLab, which opened on Trident Drive in December, says the saliva test is easier, less invasive and just as accurate as the normal nasal swab and is offering people more flexibility as testing priorities shift to things like travel and summer camps.

A partnership between Sanesco Health and Dogwood Health Trust, CommunityLab has offered faster turnaround times for COVID-19 testing and outreach to rural and underserved communities.

Now, that includes same-day appointments for the SalivaDirect test, according to a release.

"We have appointments every single day coming through with drive-up testing in Arden," said Amy Shaffer, vice president of business development and communications with Sanesco. And most people are choosing the saliva test.  

Jade Henson, community outreach and collection manager for CommunityLab, says in the release that many people find the nasal-swab test intimidating and are reluctant to get one. 

"Saliva collection is non-invasive and pain-free, and therefore may appeal to individuals who have previously been hesitant to test," Henson says in the release, adding it may therefore be especially beneficial for children. 

Anyone who needs a test can get a same-day appointment Monday-Saturday from 9 a.m-6 p.m., and results are available within 24 hours or less, the release says. 

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Instead of the nasal swab, the new test only requires at least 0.5 milliliters of saliva, and the accuracy of both is comparable, according to CommunityLab, at 94%. They're the "gold standard" PCR tests, not rapid antigen tests, Shaffer said. 

That saliva goes into a sterile container with no preservatives, a safer, more comfortable and quicker way to collect samples, the release says, available in Arden after a "rigorous validation process to be approved as a designated lab for SalivaDirect," and an agreement with Yale School of Public Health on April 13. 

Designated labs require trained technicians, and because there's no extraction, there's no needed special collection kit or risk of supply chain shortages, CommunityLab says, as well as providing a safer collection procedure and less exposure and risk for health care workers. 

All tests are processed in-house, Shaffer said, and the lab is working with community partners to provide at-home collection kits.

One example is summer camps, she said, with camps sending the at-home kits to campers who FedEx them back to CommunityLab to get a needed negative test in order to attend the camp. 

In the release, it says the lab's team can work with local businesses, health care providers and organizations, public institutions or private corporations to do the same, and Shaffer said word will be coming soon for a direct-to-consumer platform where any patient anywhere in the country can order a kit to ship back tot he facility. 

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Since its December launch, CommunityLab has seen testing shift from symptomatic individuals to asymptomatic testing for things like travel and summer camps, and people just wanting to know their status and be on the safer side. 

To date, almost 13.4 million COVID-19 tests have been completed in North Carolina, according to the state Department of Health and Human Services, at a rate that's been steadily declining in recent weeks, as has the rate of those tests returning positive results. 

As of June 5, that rate was 2.7, up from 2% the day before, but down from a high of 5.6% recorded May 8. 

In Buncombe County, the test positivity rate June 5 was 1.7%. 

Derek Lacey covers health care, growth and development for the Asheville Citizen Times. Reach him at DLacey@gannett.com or 828-417-4842 and find him on Twitter @DerekAVL.