CHAMPAIGN, Ill. (WAND) - Rapid saliva-based COVID-19 testing is now active at the University of Illinois under the umbrella of an approved FDA Emergency Use Authorization.

The university announced the CLIA-certified lab at the school performed a bridge study to a recently-approved FDA EUA, which proved its test "performs at least as well" as a recently-approved saliva-testing protocol, a press release said.

Those who take the Illinois-developed I-COVID test do not need an invasive nasal swab. Instead, they drool a small amount into a sterile test tube, which yields results in hours, even when large numbers of people are tested. The U of I has tested over 50,000 people since starting walk-up testing of faculty, staff and students in July. It is looking to test 20,000 people per day when the fall semester starts on Aug. 24.

Dr. Martin Burke associate dean for research at the Carle Illinois School of Medicine, a chemistry professor involved in helping to design the test and a medical doctor, said this new method can make a monumental difference. 

“Direct saliva testing can address bottlenecks of time, cost and supplies," Burke said. "Our test also has unique features that enable fast and frequent testing on a large scale, and we are now working together with many partners to make our testing method broadly available as soon as possible.” 

Gov. JB Pritzker said he's excited for wider availability of I-COVID.

“Today’s news puts the University of Illinois and the entire state of Illinois on the cutting edge of testing innovation on a national level. And let me just say to President Killeen, the State of Illinois looks forward to being your biggest customer,” said Pritzker. “If ongoing research continues to yield positive results, this has potentially game-changing implications for our statewide testing program as well as for testing on a national level. I’m so proud — but not at all surprised — to see this type of groundbreaking work come out of our own University of Illinois and I want to applaud President Killeen and the entire research and development team at University of Illinois for this achievement.”

“This pioneering technology is a game-changer that will help safeguard lives and livelihoods across the country,” said Tim Killeen, president of the University of Illinois System. “It is one of many breakthroughs that the U of I System’s world-class researchers have contributed to the battle against COVID-19, a battle that we are proud to help lead.”

Paul Hergenrother, a chemistry professor involved in test development, said I-COVID is uniquely suited for large-scale adoption. The virus is inactivated without any tubes being opened, as the samples are "immediately inactivated" at 95 C for 30 minutes, making them "very safe" for diagnostic lab workers.

In another step to help slow down COVID-19, the U of I also developed SHIELD, which is a three-pronged "target, test, tell" system that brings together testing with data reporting, modeling and a smartphone app. The system works closely with the Champaign-Urbana Public Health District for contact-tracing and isolating people who test positive for the virus. The U of I System recently announced "SHIELD T3," which has the aim of making testing and data technology broadly available. 

The release pointed out other CLIA-certified labs interested in using the I-COVID protocol should perform similar bridging studies to the FDA EUA granted to Yale School of Public Health.