Saliva-based coronavirus test funded by NBA, NBPA gets emergency authorization from FDA

The cost per sample could be as low as about $4, though the cost to consumers will likely be higher than that -- perhaps around $15 or $20 in some cases, according to expert sources.Yale administered the saliva test to a group that included NBA players and staff in the lead-up to the league's return to play and compared results to the nasal swab tests the same group took. Those teams fly saliva samples to one of several labs -- including the Rutgers lab in New Jersey -- approved for administering the test, which adds time and cost.The Yale test funded by the league and players' union is simple enough to be used by labs everywhere provided they go through required accreditation processes, said Nathan Grubaugh, an assistant professor of epidemiology at Yale and one of two senior authors, along with Anne Wyllie, an associate research scientist in epidemiology, behind the saliva studies. They intend to test people twice per week, Burke said.When Yale released its initial findings in April, officials in the NBA league office and sports scientists across the league were calling labs and scouring literature for possible clues on how they might develop fast, cheap and easily accessible testing for players. He also reiterated that RNA extraction is more precise."I get that everyone wants to do it more quickly and for a less expensive price, but there also has to be a level of responsibility," Brooks said.In the NBA's campus in Orlando, the league is still using nasal swabs on players, coaches and staff.The potential for rapid-return, cheap and easy-to-administer saliva tests may have implications for the structure of the 2020-21 NBA season, sources said.