UofSC students line up for new COVID testing using saliva rather than the swab testing method. The saliva test was developed by the university’s College of Pharmacy to help mitigate the outbreak of COVID-19 as students return for the fall semester. The test is free for all students, faculty, and staff at the university with results determined within 24-48 hours.
Students returned to UofSC amid the pandemic with a mix of online and in-person courses. The questions for all returning students, faculty, and staff are: “Is it safe to return to campus, classes, and dorms during this time of lockdowns, face-masks, and social distancing? Will all these people be safe from COVID-19? Will the current methods of testing, which can sometimes take seven or more days to receive results, be useful, and help mitigate the spread of the virus?”
As we have seen, you have to know who has the virus to keep the infections from spreading, and it’s the testing that will allow the officials at the university to determine if the campus can stay open to in-person classes.
The answer to these questions came from a homegrown source right on the campus of the university. The UofSC College of Pharmacy developed a saliva-based testing method that will give the student, faculty, or staff member results in 24-48 hours.
On Thursday, August 20, students sat in chairs lined up on a space near the Thomas Cooper Library to take this newly developed saliva COVID test. Every person taking the test received a container with a barcode in which they would deposit their saliva, seal the container, and then return to the College of Pharmacy volunteer. The S.A.F.E. testing is free to all students, faculty, and staff at the university and only requires registration and a working camera phone with internet access. Information and questions about the testing can be found at sc.edu/salivatest.
UofSC senior Margot Shanahan deposits saliva in a container as part of the new saliva testing program implemented at the university by the College of Pharmacy. The new saliva testing was started as students, faculty, and staff began their return to campus for the 2020 fall semester.
UofSC senior Margot Shanahan said, “The test is so much easier than the swab testing I’d had before, and we’ll get the results within 48 hours. This quick turnaround should help the university know so much faster about any outbreaks and hopefully keep us safe and in-person classes open.”
As the father of a junior at UofSC, I hope this testing works and keeps the students in their classes, and so does my daughter.
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