JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — As COVID-19 evolves, so do coronavirus testing solutions. From rapid antigen and polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests to nasal and throat swabs, there are several testing options for a COVID-19 diagnosis.
Telescope Health, a telemedicine company based in Jacksonville, is participating in a new research study to explore if saliva testing can offer accurate COVID-19 diagnosis.
Dr. Matthew Rill, CEO of Telescope Health, said tests have improved since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Right now, Rill said nasopharyngeal swabs remain the gold standard to generate accurate coronavirus test results, but they can be uncomfortable.
The test can also place health care workers in closer contact with potentially infected individuals.
Telescope Health partnered with Protean BioDiagnostics, an Orlando-based innovative diagnostics company, to support a Food and Drug Administration study to add saliva as a sample type for COVID-19 diagnosis.
“The goal of this study is to compare saliva to nasopharyngeal samples for the detection of COVID-19,” Rill said. “We are really hoping that this provides a simpler and more comfortable way to get a sample for testing,” he said.
Telescope Health said the saliva test utilizes a technology called next-generation sequencing that looks at more information about the virus than ever before.
“It has some similarities to PCR, but it gives the scientist a lot more information about the virus,” Rill said. “That’s important because with this technology, they can follow mutations through the community, which is going to be critical in making vaccines that are effective down the road.”
Data collection will take place at Telescope’s Beaches testing site located in the former Kmart Shopping Center at 540 Atlantic Blvd. in Neptune Beach.
The testing site is open Thursday through Saturday from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m.
To participate in the study, you must have COVID-19 symptoms or have been exposed to a positive case. If you enroll in the study, Rill said they’ll take a series of samples.
“You’ll get the swab that we send to our lab partner. Then Protean Diagnostics will collect three additional samples — two saliva and then another nasal — which they are using to compare to make sure that that technology is effective,” Rill said.
Rill said you can receive a $25 gift for participating in the study.