Why people in NJ are receiving other people’s saliva in the mail

Imagine you’ve sent away for a test kit in New Jersey’s free at-home COVID testing program. You eagerly open up the package ready to administer the test to yourself. Suddenly you realize this is no at-home test kit.

This is some other guy’s saliva.

Yep. This really happened. Vault Health, the company running the Garden State’s program, says a vendor made labeling mistakes that resulted in saliva samples being delivered to the homes of people who wanted a test kit sent to them. This has been happening across New Jersey as well as to some homes in Ohio and Pennsylvania.

What’s even more disturbing than getting someone else’s saliva mailed to you? Getting it inside an ominous biohazard bag.

Jeanette Cella was one of these unlucky recipients and tells NJ.com it felt “like crazy shown up on my doorstep.”

The saliva samples come inside a cylindrical specimen vial. “I’m literally sitting here with his test tube wondering if he has COVID,” said Cella. “This guy is probably waiting for his test results.”

Is there any danger of live viral contact from these improper mailings? The company says no. The blue liquid mixed in the tubes destroys the live virus while preserving nucleic acid for testing. Testing which, of course, wasn’t done for these people.

Do you remember that “here’s what I ordered but here’s what I got” trend that went around social media? Like if you ordered a toaster from Amazon then you’d put up a picture of a bowling ball you got by mistake? This reminded me of that.

Only more gross.

Opinions expressed in the post above are those of New Jersey 101.5 talk show host Jeff Deminski only.

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Filed Under: COVID-19 Coronavirus