Simple Saliva Sample Collection for the Detection of SARS-CoV-2 Variants Compared With Nasopharyngeal Swab Sample

* Context.--The use of saliva samples for diagnosis of SARS-CoV-2 infection offers several advantages, including ease of sample collection, feasibility of self-collection, and minimization of medical staff exposure to infection. The emergence of new SARS-CoV-2 variants has had an impact on the viral load of specimens and the results of real-time reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (rRT-PCR).