Saliva COVID-19 Tests are Here

Innovative Express Care is now offering saliva-based COVID-19 tests at our city and suburban virus testing centers. Our clinic has administered more than 100,000 COVID-19 tests since the pandemic started and is a leader in COVID-19 testing. We are proud to be among the first clinics offering saliva tests in Chicago at a large scale.

It is easy to provide a saliva sample for COVID-19 testing. The availability of these tests will allow us to screen over 2,000 patients each day. Every case that is identified provides an opportunity to stop further spread of this virus. The saliva test is most appropriate for asymptomatic patients and will be used as a simple screening test. The rapid COVID-19 test and nasal PCR test will continue to be used for symptomatic patients. 

Proactive screening would be a game-changer

I personally believe that regular testing is needed in order to identify and remove positive carriers from businesses and schools before outbreaks happen, thus avoiding shutdowns. If Chicagoans were screened weekly for COVID-19, we could greatly reduce the number of new cases each day. A proactive approach to testing would be a game-changer.

About the SalivaDirect Test

The SalivaDirect test was created by the Yale School of Public Health, and received emergency use authorization from the FDA. It is non-invasive, offers a quick and easy way to test for the virus, and yields faster results for patients. Studies to date have shown that the saliva test provides a comparable level of accuracy to the nasal swab test. 

Three testing sites now open 

We opened a third testing site today, November 2, which is dedicated to COVID-19 screening (patients with no symptoms and no known virus exposure). The clinic is located at 2662 N. Lincoln Avenue in Lincoln Park. We also have a COVID-19 testing site at 1111 W. Diversey Parkway in Chicago, and a suburban location at 4115 Fairview in Downers Grove, both of which see both symptomatic and asymptomatic patients. 

Workplace and school testing 

In addition to testing thousands of patients each day, we have helped hundreds of businesses and schools in the area fight COVID-19 by offering workplace testing. The simplicity of the saliva test will make it even easier for businesses to screen employees and maintain a safe workplace.  

For more information on COVID-19 testing at Innovative Express Care, visit us online.