A study finds saliva tests are 'just as effective' at detecting COVID-19 as the swab up the nose

I had to learn the word “nasopharyngeal,” so now you have to learn it, too.

That’s the adjective for the swabs that go up the nose and to the back of the throat, to collect samples for COVID-19 tests.

Starting soon, though, University of Utah Health will start taking saliva samples for COVID-19 tests, after a study by U. of U. Health and ARUP Laboratories found the spit test is ‘just as effective’ as the nasopharyngeal swab test.

Read about it here, at sltrib.com..

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Here’s what else I’ve been writing about in COVID-19 news:

• The Natural History Museum of Utah reopened on August 15, five months after its new executive director, Jason Cryan, had to close the place as his first official action. I talked to Cryan about the challenges of reopening, and what the museum is doing to make the museum’s interactive exhibits safe.

• The Utah Museum of Fine Arts announced it plans to reopen on August 26.

• The Utah Shakespeare Festival announced its 2021 season, in which five of the eight plays were ones that were canceled along with the 2020 season.

• The organizers of the Twilight Concert Series are planning a fund-raiser, and virtual benefit concert, to help musicians hit hardest by the COVID-19 pandemic.