Who gives a spit!
MTA has new drools for unvaxxed staff to follow
Stand clear of the tubes of spit, please!
Unvaccinated MTA workers’ spit is the key to the agency’s $100 million plan to test them weekly for COVID-19.
The testing program is run by Mount Sinai Health System — and a cartoon-like guide distributed by the Metropolitan Transportation Authority and obtained by the Daily News tells workers how to participate.
The guide shows a smiling man dribbling saliva into a tube, which unvaccinated workers must fill with at least 2 milliliters of spit for the tests to work.
“Do not reopen the tube and try to add more saliva,” the guide explains, adding that workers must refrain from eating, drinking, smoking, chewing gum, brushing their teeth, flossing or using mouth wash for at least an hour before they spit in the tubes.
Once the workers muster enough spit, the must seal the tubes tight, go to a drop box fastened on the sides of token booths in subway stations or at other MTA workplaces, scan a QR code on the box, scan another code on the test tube and put their saliva sample into the receptacle, the guide states.
The tubes will then be collected by a vendor and transported to a lab for testing, said a Mount Sinai spokeswoman.
MTA representatives declined to answer questions as to what happens if unvaccinated workers don’t put enough spit in the tubes or decline to submit samples each week.
Transit officials have for months said they won’t implement a vaccine mandate for workers because it would worsen a crew shortage and cripple subway, bus and railroad service.
Nearly 30% of the MTA’s 66,500 employees — about 20,000 people — have not yet submitted proof of their vaccinations.
Since Oct. 4, those without proof of their shots have been required to instead provide weekly proof of a negative COVID-19 test — but over the last two months MTA officials have only checked the results from a fraction of unvaccinated employees.
Now transit officials aim to verify weekly tests from every unvaccinated worker and will streamline the process through the spit boxes, which are also available for vaccinated workers who want an easy test.
“Mount Sinai Health System is honored to be collaborating with MTA to enhance the safety of their essential workforce with frequent and highly accurate COVID PCR saliva testing,” said Dr. David Reich, president of Mount Sinai Hospital.
“Our shared development of this unique, accurate and highly convenient testing platform leverages the talents of both organizations.”
The MTA’s annual budget proposal released last month includes a $100 million in expenses through the end of 2022 to test unvaccinated employees.
MTA Chief Safety Officer Pat Warren said Wednesday the cost would be fully reimbursed by the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
But a FEMA spokesman said Thursday that the testing costs are only covered through the end of March.
Until then, “FEMA will fund testing to detect COVID-19 infections both in a medical setting and testing needed to safely open and operate public facilities, including schools. Funding may be used to support both diagnostic and screening protocols,” the spokesman said.