The University of Virginia Health System has designed a nasopharyngeal swab and will distribute 60,000 of them across the state per week to support COVID-19 testing, the Charlottesville-based health system said this week.
The health system said its planning to produce 75,000 swabs per week, but it's keeping 15,000 to support COVID-19 testing at its facilities. The swabs are also critical for flu tests.
"There have been critical shortages across Virginia and across the country of nasopharyngeal swabs for COVID-19 testing," said Amy Mathers, MD, associate director of clinical microbiology at UVA. "These swabs will allow our supply chain team to focus on other areas where testing supplies remain limited."
UVA Health began with a 3D-printed swab prototype, then switched gears to create an injection-molded plastic swab, which was tested for safety and effectiveness in a clinical trial at UVA Medical Center.
The swab received FDA approval, and UVA is working with private companies to manufacture, sterilize and package them. Other hospitals and health systems can replicate the swab design and begin using them after conducting similar clinical trials at their own facilities, Dr. Mathers said.
Read the full news release here.