Officials from the Yale Department of Pathology, the Yale School of Public Health and the Yale School of Medicine, along with Congresswoman Rosa DeLauro and Lt. Gov. Susan Bysiewicz, held a press conference Jan. 27 in New Haven’s Long Wharf to mark the opening of two free COVID-19 testing sites.
The sites offer SalivaDirect™ Saliva PCR Testing with no pre-registration required.
The drive-up site at 60 Sargent Drive in Long Wharf and a walk-up location on the New Haven Green are open every day except Friday. The Sargent Drive site is open 8 am to noon and the New Haven Green site is open 3 pm to 6 pm.
Among those representing Yale were Nancy J. Brown, MD, Jean and David W. Wallace Dean of the Yale School of Medicine, Chen Liu, MD, PhD, Chair of Yale Pathology, Angelique W. Levi, MD, Vice Chair and Director, Yale Pathology Outreach Program, Sten H. Vermund, MD, PhD, Dean of the Yale School of Public Health, and Anne Wyllie, PhD, Research Scientist in Epidemiology with the Yale School of Public Health who developed the SalivaDirect™ test and leads the SalivaDirect™ initiative.
“Our standard turnaround test is 24 to 48 hours,” Dr. Liu said of Yale Pathology Labs’ ability to process tests. “However, many people could receive results earlier than 24 hours. It is our goal to reduce turnaround time as much as possible while maintaining the quality and accuracy of the test.”
Dr. Levi said Yale Pathology Labs are honored to have the opportunity to provide testing services to the New Haven community.
“Effective health partnerships like this one make a crucial impact on pandemic response and provide inspiration for future community-driven success,” she said.
“As we move forward and our children return to school and our workers return to work and we protect those who are most vulnerable, testing is an important part of that strategy,” Dean Brown said.
Dr. Wyllie said that with the omicron variant dominating, the test is essential.
“Saliva is even more sensitive for the early detection of omicron,” Dr. Wyllie said.
“Thanks to our incredible partners at the Yale School of Public Health and Yale Pathology Labs to highlight this new integral testing method that we can now use in our toolbox to navigate the COVID-19 viral world,” Bysiewicz said.
“I, too, want to applaud the efforts of the Saliva Direct initiative of the Yale School of Public Health and the Yale Pathology Labs,” DeLauro added.