SHIELD T3 now offering unobserved COVID testing services

CHICAGO, Jan. 6, 2022 /PRNewswire/ --Shield T3, the University of Illinois System's national COVID-testing unit, is now offering unobserved PCR testing services to universities, K-12 schools and companies to make it easier on students and workers to get tested.

Organizations that utilize the U of I-developed covidSHIELD test for their employees or students now have the option to pick up a kit and collect the sample outside of a typical collection site.

Individuals can take the test home or provide a sample in their office and then return it to their employer or school. The organization will then submit the sample to one of Shield T3's seven labs for processing. Results are delivered within 24 hours of receipt at the lab via an app.

The service offerings are now possible after the U.S. Food & Drug Administration granted the covidSHIELD test emergency use authorization for unobserved testing in October.

"Shield T3 and the University of Illinois System have risen to the challenge of COVID-19 and are now continuing to innovate," said Shield T3 principal officer Bill Jackson. "We are so proud to have invented a test that is now protecting millions of people worldwide from a virus that remains very dangerous."

The Shield T3 testing system has a built-in capability for monitoring test results and vaccine compliance via an online dashboard and an ability to display the compliance status in a personal passport/badge application.

Shield T3, a for-profit organization, is providing more than 1 million tests per quarter in the United States and abroad. It has plans to open two more labs in response to a pending federal rule requiring most private employers to test unvaccinated workers weekly. The unobserved testing will streamline the collection process for partners that have chosen to self-collect.

About covidSHIELD

Pioneered by researchers at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, covidSHIELD is a comprehensive solution to curb and control the spread of the SARS-CoV-2 virus, which causes COVID-19. The covidSHIELD testing process is currently in use at schools, universities, community colleges, government entities, and companies throughout the United States.

SOURCE Shield T3