Here is some good news for both individuals and employers alike.
A new saliva-based COVID-19 test will be available in the Rockford area in approximately six to eight weeks. It was developed by the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and will be offered under the name SHIELD Illinois through a partnership with the University of Illinois College of Medicine Rockford.
- easier sample submission – just drool in a tube
- quicker results – turnaround time is 6-12 hours, not days
- and a lower cost – less than a third of the cost of current swab tests
“This is a game-changer for COVID-19 testing,” says Dr. Alex Stagnaro-Green, dean of the College of Medicine Rockford. “We expect by late October to have a testing laboratory operational that will be able to provide same-day results in most cases.”
The innovative technology and process underlying SHIELD will allow the state to shift away from a defensive symptom-based strategy to a proactive surveillance-based strategy.
SHIELD Illinois hopes to expand the testing to local organizations and businesses who want to screen their employees, students or members to control the spread of COVID-19 in their organizations.
Learn more about how your business or organization can utilize the SHIELD test to identify pre-symptomatic and asymptomic individuals. Contact Alex Stagnaro-Green, MD, MHPE, MHA, at asg@uic.edu or (815) 395-5600.
