Albany airport to take new route on COVID-19 testing
Facility to provide lessintrusive saliva tests for workers, travelers
In the next few days, officials at Albany International Airport will choose a location for the new COVID -19 testing center. Testing of airport employees, from cargo handlers to Transportation Security Administration officers, could begin by the end of the week, with public testing later in December.
The saliva tests were developed at the SUNY Upstate Medical University in Syracuse by Frank Middleton, an associate professor at the school, said Dr. Mantosh Dewan, the school’s interim president. And from Dewan’s description, they avoid some of the drawbacks of the nearly ubiquitous nasal swabs used in other tests.
It can be self-administered, using a cotton swab to collect saliva from inside both cheeks, avoiding the discomfort of a nasal swab inserted—sometimes too far—into the nose.
The testing doesn’t require the personal protective equipment — gowns, gloves, face shields — that health care workers otherwise must wear.
At an airport news conference Sunday morning, a number of local officials tested themselves, then inserted the swabs into a clear plastic tube containing a reagent and sealed it.
The samples are then analyzed in a machine built by Hercules, Calif.-based Bio-rad, which takes about three hours for each batch. The machine is fairly compact; the ones being used at SUNY Upstate cost about $20,000, Dewan said.
Earlier, the saliva tests were used by the state university
Under guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, travelers would be tested one to three days before they fly and again three to five days after they land.
system, which screened its students before they traveled home for holiday break. As many as 3,000 tests were performed each day.
While the tests for now will be sent to Syracuse for analysis, Dewan said several test centers are planned across the state, from Long Island to Buffalo. In the meantime, tests performed at the airport will be sent by car to Syracuse.
Travelers and airport employers likely will learn the results within 24 hours. In addition to the near real-time results, the saliva test is almost 100 percent effective, detecting COVID -19 within one to three days after the person has been infected, thanks to its sensitivity to slight concentrations of the virus.
The nasal tests often don’t detect the virus until five to seven days into the infection.
Cost is another advantage. Dewan said that while nasal tests can cost $100 to $150, the saliva test can cost $60 or less. The SUNY system was being charged just $15 a test, he added, although that price didn’t cover all the costs.
Under guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, travelers would be tested one to three days before they fly and again three to five days after they land. The tests will cost $30 at the airport. If travelers take the test home and mail it in, the cost will be $60.
The tests likely won’t get much cheaper. Dewan said there’s the cost of the reagent, the machines and the people needed to run them.
With health care workers in high demand, the labor costs have gone up.
More details on testing for travelers is expected in coming days.