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UIUC still waiting on federal approval to expand saliva test beyond campus community

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Illinois

* Numerous folks here and elsewhere have been wondering why the UIUC saliva test isn’t being used throughout the state. Elyssa Cherney at the Tribune answers that question…

The directions are simple: Step into a tent on the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign campus, drop dribbles of saliva into a test tube and wait for the results within about 24 hours.

The new COVID-19 test, developed by researchers at UIUC, debuted Tuesday as students and faculty were invited to experience it for themselves. School leaders have set a goal of offering 10,000 tests per day by Aug. 24, when in-person classes start up again. […]

The ability to conduct a large volume of tests and process them quickly is a core feature of UIUC’s reopening plan, which aims to allow thousands of college students to return and safely resume their studies on campus amid the pandemic this fall. Students can choose to remain off-campus and take classes online.

But questions about the tests linger: It’s not clear if students will be required to undergo testing, and the school has yet to receive federal approval to expand testing beyond the university community, though one of its labs is certified to analyze results.

posted by Rich Miller
Tuesday, Jul 7, 20 @ 3:09 pm

Comments

Why does it need federal approval to expand? They haven’t exactly shown interest in participating in trying to tame the pandemic. If offering the test outside of the university setting would jeopardize some sort of certification, could they just spin the COVID spit test off into a stand alone “lab” owned/operated by someone else? I’d think the risk of harming people is pretty low. Even if it has false negatives, the positives it does catch would be worth it, especially for asymptomatic people who have no incentive to get swabbed.

Comment by Shaun in East Peoria Tuesday, Jul 7, 20 @ 3:35 pm
The part I find interesting about this:

Local community was told students would be randomly selected and sent an email to show up for testing.

The testing would be mandatory.

This article sure seems to imply that I of I can’t force students to test.

Am I missing something?

Or is the be university talking out of both sides of its mouth?

Comment by Lynn S. Tuesday, Jul 7, 20 @ 4:58 pm
What is the downside to proceeding without fed approval? I assume there could be some liability but these are pretty extraordinary times.

Comment by Excitable Boy Tuesday, Jul 7, 20 @ 6:21 pm
A medical professional explained to me that to move forward federal approval is needed as it is a liability issue. If done incorrectly I was told that not only could patients sue, but the federal government could also sue.

Comment by illinifan Tuesday, Jul 7, 20 @ 6:39 pm
Just to clarify, everyone is supposed to get tested when they first show up to classes, then they will also select students to get tested at random during the semester. From the way they’ve been talking about it I assumed this would be required (not just “expected”), but I wonder if they’re encountering legal problems or something.

Comment by TooManyJens Tuesday, Jul 7, 20 @ 10:00 pm