Sen. Jerry Moran, R-KS, shared in his Aug. 3 newsletter, “Kansas Common Sense,” that a Kansas company has received a green light to begin marketing a new type of test for COVID-19 that individuals can administer themselves at home. 

“On Friday, a Kansas company received Emergency Use Authorization from the US. Food and Drug Administration for their saliva-based COVID-19 tests that can be completed at home. This just approved COVID-19 test will be utilized by our universities to widely test their student bodies in a manner that will allow them to safely reopen their campuses to students. After touring the Kansas testing facility, I worked with the FDA to quickly get this test approved in time for the scheduled reopening of our schools. This type of accurate, fast and easy-to-use testing is crucial not only for our universities, but also the safe reopening of all public spaces.

“As their capacity increases, more Kansans will have access to fast and easy results, marking a huge step forward in being able to continue safely reopening our economy and returning to normal.”

In a telephone interview with a Wichita radio host, Steve McIntosh, he described how the test works.

“It is a spit test. You can do it at home, and you mail it back in,” he said. “It is then submitted for laboratory testing, it then has an email that comes back to you indicating if you are positive or negative. All indications are that it is done in same day service.”

Moran did not release the name of the company. 

The rest of Moran’s newsletter, which includes updates on the Senate Judiciary Committee, demonstrations in Portland, Ore., investment in Kansas infrastructure, telehealth, consumer protection and airport grants, can be found at https://www.moran.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?p=newsletter&id=42915BBA-DF4B-49F0-B2E7-DF46E5ED3BB3.