Testing supplies for COVID-19 are limited worldwide.
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Validity of alternative testing supplies is needed.
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This article supports the use of non-flocked swabs of the oropharynx/nares for COVID-19 testing.
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These data support the use of PBS as transport media for COVID-19 testing.
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Performance of non-flocked swabs in PBS is similar to that of previously-validated swabs.
Abstract
The COVID-19 pandemic has led to a worldwide shortage of nasopharyngeal swabs and universal transport media. This study evaluated a combined oropharynx/nares (OP/Na) sample collection using two readily-available non-flocked swabs, transported in phosphate-buffered saline, and demonstrates equivalent performance in SARS-CoV-2 detection compared to a previously-validated OP/Na collection kit.
