This one is supposed to be 97% accurate and doesn't require any specialized equipment.

https://www.sciencemag.org/news/2020/08/milestone-fda-oks-simple-accurate-coronavirus-test-could-cost-just-5

And there are some significant Doctors who think this kind of testing is actually better suited for screening because it identifies best when you are actually infectious.

https://www.vox.com/2020/8/27/21374002/rapid-covid-19-test-3m-abbott

I am not in favor of this. Nor am I convinced that the BIG10 will buy it.

I just think it has been offered and that would be an enormous abuse of power

I also believe a lot of top tier players will opt out due to other players having heart problems from COVID-19.

I believe that they will play if given the chance, and I also the coaches will play them sick if they can get away with it. There is just too much money in play to worry about the health of a few athletes.

the list grows every day

My Hurricanes lost their top defensive end who was billed to be the next big thing after a real breakout year last year.

But the opposite is also true for the next tier down. There are hundreds of kids that need this year to prove themselves worthy of a pro career. They are willing to take the chance to showcase their skills.

There are already lawsuits filed about this as well as transfers to schools that are playing.

I respect their decision whether they opt out or really want to play. Football is a risk for many reasons so I am not even sure that COVID is the biggest risk they are taking.

they were asked and literally laughed about it. They aren't playing anytime soon.

It is still possible to have a month of practices even on their aggressive timeline.

I still doubt it but it is technically possible. As far as I know, all the players are at campus and could start on short notice.

FDA approval came last week for the test. U of Illinois is a Big Ten school.

https://fortune.com/2020/08/29/covid-testing-university-of-illinois-saliva-test-coronavirus-students-twice-weekly/



Laura



Added on edit: Local news was reporting tonight that the orange anus did call about football today and was told no football by the university. The vote by the Big 10 about playing this season had only three schools that voted to play. One was Indiana, another was Iowa. Can't remember who the third was, but it struck me that Iowa and Indiana are both reporting hot spots lately. Just sayin...

And that was really what got me excited about where the testing is heading. Good for them because it gives them a better chance for success than other schools relying on older testing protocols. I think it is similar to what the NBA is using in their bubble.

I think the vote you are referring to is the original one. The details were only release yesterday but the 11-3 decision was the original vote to postpone way back on 8/11. The three schools who voted to play were Nebraska, Iowa and Ohio State. https://www.espn.com/college-football/story/_/id/29781315/big-ten-voted-11-3-postpone-fall-football-season-docs-show

But not for the players.

to sing the praises of the new pooled saliva testing developed at Upstate Medical University in Syracuse and being used to test Syracuse University and SUNY students with quick results:

[link:https://spectrumlocalnews.com/nys/central-ny/coronavirus/2020/08/19/saliva-testing-will-allow-cny-to-do-thousand-more-tests-each-day|]

They take about a dozen saliva samples, rather than nasal swabs, and test the group for COVID-19 at once.

“Each swab was used by one student at a different campus," said Dr. Frank Middleton, a professor and researcher at Upstate Medical University. "This particular pool comes from Onondaga Community College.”

Middleton will test the group, and if it comes back negative, none of the 12 people have the coronavirus.

That saves labs valuable time, supplies, and money. Upstate will be able to conduct at least 12,000 more tests a day, according to the New York State Health Department.

There is a lot of negativity around here about the colleges being back in session.

I get it. There is some danger and it could go horribly wrong.

However, the Universities are loaded with smart, innovative people and they have invested all their energies into making it work.

And it is easy to be cynical about the money but that is the same motivation they have for really moving the bar forward. Some of them may fail, but some of them may work and they could be the solutions that are good enough to work for all of us.

Here is one that fascinated me from Arizona https://www.sciencemag.org/news/2020/08/poop-tests-stop-covid-19-outbreak-university-arizona