President Trump said researchers are looking into the efficiency of “self-swab” coronavirus tests that he noted can be less invasive than the current testing methods.
The president made the announcement at a White House press conference Wednesday. The conferences have become daily affairs with Trump, flanked by Vice President Mike Pence and the coronavirus response team, providing updates and answering questions. The president pointed out that he himself had a coronavirus test and said it was “not very nice.”
“We’re working with several groups to determine if the self-swab, a much easier process than the current process that’s not very nice to do. I can tell you because I did it,” he said. “We have a current process that’s a little bit difficult if you haven’t done [it].
“The other’s very effective, very accurate. But we’re going to see if we can do self-swab, which would be a lot more popular, I can tell you that,” he emphasized.
The current test requires sticking a long cotton swab deep into the nasal cavity to reach what is known as the nasopharyngeal region. The procedure takes about 10 seconds most of the time. Trump was tested and came back negative after he was in contact with people who had tested positive for COVID-19.
The president went on to say that he has asked the Food and Drug Administration to “cut through the red tape and reduce regulatory barriers” to make the tests more readily available.
