While developing a rapid test that detects the coronavirus responsible for COVID-19 in someone’s saliva, Blink Science, a Florida-based startup, heard something startling: The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) had received more than 3,000 emergency use authorization applications, and it didn’t have the resources to get through them. “We want to try to avoid the EUA quagmire,” said Peb Hendrix, vice president of operations for Blink Science. The company’s test is still in early development. On the advice of consultants, it’s weighing an alternative route through the FDA to the U.S. market. “It’s just the way our government works,” Hendrix said, which is a challenge for businesses that are “anxious to get started and think they’ve got something that can help.” The United States produced COVID-19 vaccines in record time, but nearly two years into the pandemic, consumers have few options for cheap tests that quickly screen for infection, though …