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The
SHIELD test was granted emergency authorization by the FDA in
February and has drawn global interest since it was launched at
the University of Illinois’ three campuses in 2020. To date, the
U of I System has administered nearly 3 million tests at its
campuses in Champaign-Urbana, Chicago and Springfield.
U of I President Tim Killeen gave presidential medallions to the
28 members, for what he called their incredible response to the
pandemic.
“Our contributions to the fight against COVID to date have been
literally groundbreaking, and although not over, they have
proven in real time with real tangible examples just what our
university means to our people in Illinois and beyond,” Killeen
said.
More than 1,000 Illinois schools have chosen to use the SHIELD
COVID-19 test to begin the school year. As an alternative to
quarantine, students and staffers who have been identified as a
close contact of a positive COVID-19 case now have the option of
a Test-to-Stay protocol. Close contacts must be tested on days
1, 3, 5, and 7 after exposure. As long as close contacts remain
negative, they are not required to quarantine.
Previously, SHIELD Illinois tests were offered to schools in
low-income communities with high rates of the virus at no-cost.
With funding from the federal CARES Act and the American Rescue
Plan, the state expanded free testing to all K-12 schools
throughout Illinois.
U of I Chancellor Robert Jones praised the 28 members of the
school’s SHIELD test team.
“It has been the creativity, innovation, hard work and
collective genius of our SHIELD team that has allowed us to
navigate COVID-19,” Jones said.
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