What is Holding Up Expansion of University of Illinois Saliva Test?
A University of Illinois student worker administers a COVID-19 rapid saliva test this fall. Lawmakers argue Governor JB Pritzker could have expanded the test developed on the U-of-I campus around the state by now.
A downstate lawmaker says Governor Pritzker has the authority to expand the University of Illinois-developed rapid saliva test for COVID-19, but the administration has yet to make the test more widely available.
State Sen. Chapin Rose (R-Mahomet) sent a letter to Pritzker last week asking him to approve the expansion of the SHIELD saliva test.
It appears the administration has been waiting for Emergency Use Authorization from the federal Food & Drug Administration, but Rose says the federal government gives the Governor the ability to expand the testing.
During a Senate hearing earlier this month, University staff agreed the fastest way to make the so-called SHIELD testing available to the rest of Illinois would be through an Executive Order from the Governor.
“The entire state is waiting on the expansion of SHIELD testing and the promise it brings to reduce the loss of life from this virus,” Rose wrote to the Governor. “Nursing homes, K-12, other public colleges, and private industry could all benefit from the addition of the robust, accurate, and very quick testing regime that SHIELD offers.”
We’re told the University of Illinois has built out laboratory sites in Decatur and Springfield to help process tests but are waiting for authorization from either the Pritzker administration or federal government.
Sources also indicate University of Illinois officials have been lobbying the Pritzker administration for approval of the expanded testing, but the Governor has yet to act.
A University of Illinois spokesperson was not available for comment Monday evening.