Detecting spike protein omits the unwrapping steps that are part of the PCR test protocol. And this test appears to be formalized for saliva from the start, wh

Detecting spike protein omits the unwrapping steps that are part of the PCR test protocol. And this test appears to be formalized for saliva from the start, which is far more practical than throat swabbing. Some studies indicate that PCR would very similar results if it was switched to saliva, but that would require recertification. Switching would probably be a net negative because swabbing is far from the only bottleneck and because protocol change artifacts would taint statistics.