The ability to test fast, but more importantly, cheaply is why this is so significant. For a saliva test, it's 90% accurate. But as Yale has said (it's in article), at approximately $10 a test, they can afford to do two tests and get 99.9% accuracy. The test has been amazing for the NBA, giving them ability to do unlimited, fast testing.
Here is another good link to understand the capabilties now:
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration issued an emergency authorization on Saturday allowing public use of a saliva-based test for the coronavirus developed at Yale University and funded by the NBA and the National Basketball Players Association.
www.espn.com
A good thread to read from Andy Slavitt on twitter that goes deeper into why this test is a game changer.
The issue at the college level, was the inability of consistent testing across the country. Some schools have significantly better standards/operations. This test will give all schools ability to test, cheaply, on a consistent basis. Schools, like FSU for example, were waiting 48 hours for test results, which is obviously not suitable for a college football team. This will fix that.
I think the conferences that decided to push forward, now have a sustainable way to do it. Prior to this test I also was skeptical. But if you can test daily, and isolate those that are positive, it becomes much more manageable throughout the season.
And I guess the even better news is, this test will be huge for the country as a whole. Cheap, nationwide testing, via your spit, is much better than a swab 3 inches into your nose, and several days awaiting the result.
