As we all know there is a pandemic going on and we want to know the effectiveness of the COVID-19 saliva tests. We take these tests every week in PE, and we need to make sure that they are the best test for us to test for the virus COVID-19. The way the saliva tests work is that the patients that are testing for the virus spit into the little tube for a small sample to test. After that, the saliva tests are shipped to a lab by plane or truck, then tested in a lab and that’s the way they do it here at Westminster. They test the saliva tests in pools; that way we get the tests back faster to know the results of the tests. Then the test results are sent back to the school, and if anyone tests positive, the student will be pulled out and will have to go virtual.

According to Leslie Ann Little, saliva tests are efficient and effective. “Well the bottom line is you have to weigh a lot of factors and efficiency and efficacy and the saliva tests have a high degree of efficiency,” says Little. “It’s also manually administered so you’re not putting anyone else at risk. And it has a fairly high degree of efficacy; in other words, it’s right most of the time. It can give false positives like any other test. It’s a high-level test and we have to weigh all the options and that seemed to be the very best option of trying to get something that is highly efficient but also efficacious.” What Mrs. Little is saying here is that the saliva test is the best option for us because it is very efficient and is right most of the time.

Some students were asked if they would rather take the COVID-19 saliva test or the nasal test. Lachlan O’Neill said, “I would rather take the nasal test because the saliva test is disgusting and hard to do sometimes and unsafe because most classes aren’t able to separate 10ft apart.” William Wickliffe’s thoughts on the COVID-19 saliva tests and said “I would rather take the nasal test than the saliva test because the saliva test is disgusting and makes me sick.” Based on the student’s answers most students don’t like the saliva tests and think there gross but they are the best opinion for us because they’re fast results and there very accurate.

Over Christmas break, when we all went back to school to get tested, Westminster wanted to get the results back fast so they put all the tests on a plane and shipped them to a really popular lab and got results before most schools so they can get the tests back even faster. Westminster thinks that the saliva test is the best option for us even though it’s disgusting to many students because it gives an accurate and quick result. Many other sources say that the saliva test is the best option as well. Therefore the COVID-19 saliva test is the most efficient because It’s a high-level test and we have to weigh all the options and that seems to be the very best option of trying to get something that is highly efficient but also efficacious.