Community colleges across the state now have the ability to provide the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign’s (UIUC) innovative, saliva-based COVID-19 test at no cost to any state resident who wants one.
The testing will be funded through an agreement between the Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) and SHIELD Illinois, the University of Illinois System unit that is deploying the test throughout the state.
Under the agreement, the state's 49 community colleges can test their own students and staff, and can choose to serve as community testing sites where any Illinois resident can get a free test.
There are currently five active SHIELD Illinois community testing sites – Black Hawk College, Heartland Community College, Lincoln Land Community College, Oakton Community College, and Sauk Valley Community College – and more in development.
The agreement is being funded with money the state received through the federal Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act and the American Rescue Plan.
UIUC’s innovative, saliva-based COVID-19 PCR test has held the virus in check at the U of I System’s three universities thanks to widespread testing with rapid results. The test, known as covidSHIELD, was granted emergency use authorization by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in February.
“The University of Illinois System is proud to be able to extend covidSHIELD protection across the state using Illinois’ network of community colleges to reach any state resident who wants a test,” U of I System President Tim Killeen said. “The covidSHIELD test is non-invasive and easy to take, and the results are quick and reliable. All of this allows for the type of widespread, regular testing that has made our campuses among the safest places in Illinois since last fall. This broad expansion of our test-and-trace system is just part of the U of I System’s longstanding commitment to Illinois and the public good.”
The pioneering covidSHIELD testing process has drawn global interest since it was launched at the system’s three universities in 2020. To date, the U of I System has administered more than two million tests at its universities in Urbana-Champaign, Chicago and Springfield.
The system has created two units to share the testing protocol: SHIELD Illinois and Shield T3, a university-related organization deploying the saliva test outside of Illinois.
“Thanks to the excellent work by the University of Illinois and the UIUC SHIELD team, SHIELD Illinois and Shield T3 can use the test to make a real difference,” said Ron Watkins, managing director of SHIELD Illinois. “Coupled with the CARES Act funding that the Governor’s office and IDPH are utilizing to fund testing for public universities and community colleges, this new agreement will propel our efforts to keep everyone safe and reopen our state’s economy.”
Samples from schools and community colleges that use covidSHIELD will be tested at labs across the state that have been authorized to use the process. All labs using covidSHIELD are CLIA certified, meaning they meet federal standards for quality and reliability established by the Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments of 1988.
Pioneered by a team of researchers at UIUC, the covidSHIELD test requires only a deposit of saliva instead of an intrusive nasal swab. It takes minutes to collect the sample and provides results within 24 hours of the sample reaching a covidSHIELD lab. The test notifies individuals of the presence or absence of the genetic material contained in the SARS-CoV-2 virus.
In addition to the U of I System, the covidSHIELD testing process is currently in use at about 70 universities, colleges, schools, companies, and government entities.
Organizations inside Illinois who are interested in using the SHIELD saliva test should visit uillinois.edu/shield or email shieldillinois@uillinois.edu. Interested organizations outside of Illinois should contact Shield T3 at shieldt3.com or email inquiries@shieldt3.com.
