The conventional testing for SARS-CoV-2 procedures include collection of a specimen with nasopharyngeal swab, storage of the specimen in universal transport medium (UTM), RNA extraction, and RT-qPCR. With eleven paired self-collected specimens, this study sought to simplify this process by removing the UTM and RNA extraction steps and comparing the results of the simplified procedure to the conventional procedure. Results of the study indicated that dry swabs can be eluted into a TE buffered solution without jeopardizing the sensitivity of the SARS-CoV-2 test. The authors recommend additional testing with a larger cohort sample and further environmental stressors to validate findings.