VANCOUVER -- Good news for anyone who's had to get an uncomfortable nasal swab test for COVID-19: another option is available.
The gargle test is now an option for adults at test collection centres in Vancouver Coastal Health, the authority said.
The less invasive option has been available for children since September, but adults have had to make do with the uncomfortable and sometimes painful nasal swab until now.
The standard test involves pushing a cotton swab deep into a patient's nasal cavity.
The new method simply requires a patient gargle saline for about 30 seconds, then spit it into a tube.
The day after the test was announced as an option for B.C. kids and teenagers, a researcher who helped with its development said the goal was eventually to make it available to all.
Dr. David Goldfarb said back in September that the focus initially was back-to-school, but that the plan was to "scale this up eventually."
The microbiologist at BC Children's Hospital said researchers believe the new test is approximately as effective as the nasopharyngeal swab, because "it really samples the entire mouth and back of your mouth."
The rate of detection in both children and adults was very similar between the two test methods, he said.
Anyone taking the gargle test is reminded not to eat, drink, smoke, chew gum or brush their teeth for an hour beforehand.
