Analyzing saliva with a swab or by spitting into a container, this is the new weapon of biologists to track down Covid-19. Thursday February 11, the High Authority of Health authorized this method of screening, under conditions. Indeed, this technique is rather easy; scientists therefore recommend it for mass tests, for example in nursing homes, for caregivers or in schools.
For its part, the government wants to move quickly to slow the epidemic. “The laboratories are preparing, we have been working with them for weeks”, declared the Minister of Health, Olivier Véran. But until now, scientists have wondered about the effectiveness of these saliva samples. A priori, the reliability would amount to 85%. For comparison, PCR tests have a 98% efficiency. As for the antigenic tests, their effectiveness reaches “only” 80%. For epidemiologist Catherine Hill, 85% is enough.
The JT
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