NAIA MANDATES COVID-19 TESTING FOR ATHLETES
Vivature Offers SolutionOn July 10, 2020, the NAIA announced that they now require COVID-19 testing to be performed on athletes, 7 days prior to competitions. See UPDATED NAIA Guidelines here.
Vivature, INC./Diamond Physicians has recently partnered with Quidel, the manufacturer of the SOFIA-2 analyzer, to provide best in class COVID-19 testing using their SOFIA-2 analyzer. The SOFIA-2, provides results instantly with a non-invasive nasal swab (gentle swab just inside the nostril).
This test can handle 30-50 athletes an hour per analyzer. Meaning, you could test your entire team and know the results just hours before a competition.
In addition, this test boasts an accuracy rating of 100% on positive (Specificity) and 97% on Negative (Sensitivity) test making this the most accurate rapid test on the market, better than standard PCR testing.
PCR Testing is Viral Antigen testing. The difference is how you obtain the results. PCR test uses a lab and human reading. The Sofia test, has the Antigen on the cassette, thus allowing the computer to read if the virus binds to the antigen or not. This allows for a RAPID response. The accuracy of the Sofia test is higher than the PCR test. This is why every major professional sports organization is using the Sofia-2 to test their athletes.
Vivature/Diamond has the inventory in-house to deliver within two business days, at an affordable cost. Vivature also has options available that would allow you to offset the cost of the tests, so to not break the budget.
We have already shipped complete packages to over 100 colleges as of today, including Major League Baseball.
As part of this solution, Vivature uses its proprietary technology platform to deliver a contactless symptoms checklist via smartphone App, as well as Contact Tracing, once someone tests positive.
This is the same solution now being used by the major professional sports teams in the United States.
If testing is part of your protocol, you should be looking into the SOFIA-2 test. This is the only test that can meet the needs of colleges sports programs.
What is the Difference in PCR and Viral Antigen Test?
PCR Testing is Viral Antigen testing. The difference is how you obtain the results. PCR test uses a lab and human reading. The Sofia test, has the Antigen on the cassette, thus allowing the computer to read if the virus binds to the antigen or not. This allows for a RAPID response. The accuracy of the Sofia test is higher than the PCR test. This is why every major professional sports organization is using the Sofia-2 to test their athletes.
PCR stands for polymerase chain reaction, which uses viral antigen testing. PCR takes the viral antigen (molecular structures on the surface of viruses that are recognized by the immune system and are capable of triggering an immune response) obtained from a nasopharyngeal swab and amplify the DNA/RNA of the virus. PCR amplifies the DNA/RNA 100 times and compares the strands to existing COVID19 DNA/RNA. The process involves human interpretation and is very labor intensive and expensive. Currently, our medical system in the United States has been overloaded with PCR testing and some patients are waiting 10-12 days for results, and even longer on asymptomatic patients. Currently there is also a global shortage of nasopharyngeal swabs and reagents for this test.
Viral Antigen testing utilizes the same antigens as PCR but doesn’t amplify them. COVID 19 Antibodies are already on the test cartridge itself. Viral antigen which is collected by nasal swab (anterior nares or first part of nasal passage), is placed on the kit. If they bind to the antibodies, the test is triggered positive. SOFIA-2 utilize viral antigen testing for flu and have so for the last decade because it is fast, less expensive, and more practical than traditional PCR testing. The results are also determined by a machine as opposed to a human, removing the subjectivity of the test.
The Quidel Viral antigen test has a sensitivity of 96.7% making verification with PCR obsolete. The test is so accurate that many are now using the viral antigen test for screening asymptomatic and symptomatic COVID19 patients and do not need to verify the results with PCR (amplifying the same viral antigen DNA/RNA to get a more sensitive result).