Leading the charge against COVID-19

Ian Ludden, Janet Jokela and Sehldon Jacobson posing outdoors

Second year of pandemic deadlier for middle aged than the first

Nov 21, 2022 2:00 pm

The first two years of the COVID-19 pandemic saw an increase in mortality rates, both from COVID-19 and other causes, but the groups hardest hit shifted between the first and second years, according to an analysis of publicly available data.

masked worker with clipboard talks to Black masked female in coat

SHIELD CU helping raise vaccination rates among people of color

Jun 16, 2021 8:30 am

The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign's SHIELD CU team is partnering with local organizations to help boost the COVID-19 vaccination rate in Champaign County's community of color.

SHIELD Illinois launches free testing site at DePaul's Loop Campus

Jan 18, 2022 4:30 pm

SHIELD Illinois, the University of Illinois System’s in-state, non-profit COVID-testing unit, is partnering with DePaul University and the Chicago Department of Public Health (CDPH) to launch a free community testing site at DePaul’s Loop Campus.

SHIELD Illinois opens two free COVID testing sites in Chicago

May 19, 2022 4:00 pm

SHIELD Illinois opened two additional free community testing sites in Chicago this month, bringing its total number of locations statewide to 44. The newly opened community sites increase access to COVID testing in underserved communities.

SHIELD testing sign in front of building

SHIELD program a model for effective pandemic management, data show

Jun 9, 2022 9:00 am

A new paper in the journal Nature Communications details the innovations in modeling, saliva testing and results reporting of the SHIELD program that helped mitigate the spread of the virus at University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and the surrounding community.

SHIELD has been deployed in schools and communities across the state through the U of I System's SHIELD Illinois unit, and around the world through the university-related organization Shield T3.

Shield T3 & DPI announce commercialization of COVID-19 wastewater monitoring

Feb 2, 2022 9:45 am

Shield T3 and the Discovery Partners Institute (DPI) today announced a new service to state and local governments outside of Illinois: Testing COVID-19 and its variants in sewage.

Shield T3 launches a vending machine for COVID-19 tests

Sep 16, 2022 10:15 am

Shield T3, a spin out of the U of I System’s Discovery Partners Institute, is now providing vending machines stocked with more than 300 of its saliva-based, PCR tests for COVID-19.

a phone displaying social media app icons

Social media messaging was effective in mitigating COVID-19, researchers say

Apr 12, 2023 11:30 am

Researchers discovered that employing social media posts as a means of visual nudging to encourage safe behaviors significantly impacts COVID-19 positivity rates. This effect remains evident even after accounting for various organizational characteristics and disease dynamics at multiple levels.

State invests big in COVID tests for schools

May 12, 2021 2:00 pm

P{ublic health officials announced a $225 million plan to subsidize the use of University of Illinois COVID-19 saliva tests at public middle schools and high schools.

Student-run contract tracing effective in curbing COVID-19 transmission

Nov 21, 2022 1:00 pm

The UIC COVID-19 Contact Tracing and Epidemiology Program helped reduce COVID-19 exposures and infections on campus during the 2020-21 academic year, according to results published in the American Journal of Infection Control.

close up of dental instruments in mouth of patient

Study: 2% of asymptomatic pediatric dental patients test positive for COVID-19

Apr 26, 2021 1:00 pm

A study by a University of Illinois Chicago pediatric dentist has shown a novel way to track potential COVID-19 cases — testing children who visit the dentist. The study also showed an over 2% positivity rate for the asymptomatic children tested.

Study: Black girls’ health ‘heavily impacted’ by COVID

May 2, 2022 1:15 pm

The physical, psychological and sexual development of Black adolescent girls has been “heavily impacted” by the COVID-19 pandemic, said UIC College of Nursing assistant professor Natasha Crooks, PhD, RN.

Study: COVID-19 policies harmed minority women's perinatal experiences, magnified inequities

Nov 17, 2022 8:30 am

Black, Indigenous and other women of color who were pregnant or gave birth during the pandemic said these experiences were overshadowed by isolation, confusion and fear, much of it caused by unclear or frequently changing institutional policies, according to a new UIUC study.

Study: Domestic control of COVID-19 takes priority over international travel bans

Aug 13, 2021 11:00 am

According to a new paper co-written by a University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign urban and environmental economics expert, taming domestic transmission of the novel coronavirus ought to be prioritized over international travel bans

Study examined COVID-19 policies' effects on people with disabilities

Jun 28, 2022 10:45 am

The gym closures, social distancing mandates and other COVID-19 mitigation policies in the U.S. negatively affected the mental health and well-being of some people with disabilities by significantly curtailing their ability to remain active, researchers found.

In a survey of more than 950 people with diverse types of disabilities, researchers at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign identified four groups of people – heavily impacted, resilient, adapted and radically changed – who were differently affected by the pandemic.

Tara Powell and Jenna Mueller in front of colorful mural

Study examines pandemic’s impact on volunteer health care workers

Jul 15, 2022 10:45 am

Compassion satisfaction – the gratification associated with helping others – protected volunteer health care workers against stress-related symptoms and burnout during the early days of the pandemic, according to a new UIUC study.

Study finds green spaces linked to lower racial disparity in COVID-19 infection rates

Apr 28, 2021 8:15 am

A higher ratio of green spaces at the county level is associated with a lower racial disparity in coronavirus infection rates, according to a new study.

Study launched to study vaccine relationship to menstrual cycle

Apr 13, 2021 10:15 am

Kate Clancy from UIUC and a colleague are launching a study on the COVID vaccine and the relationship to the menstrual cycle after experiencing unusual side effects.

Study maps COVID-19 health disparities in Greater Santiago

Apr 27, 2021 1:00 pm

People up to age 40 living in economically depressed municipalities in the Greater Santiago, Chile, metropolitan area were three times more likely to die as a result of the infection than their counterparts in wealthier areas, researchers report in the journal Science.

headshots for Ujjal Kumar Mukherjee and Sridhar Seshadri

Study: Rapid bulk-testing for COVID-19 key to reopening universities

Mar 29, 2021 12:00 pm

A new paper co-written by business professors Gies College of Business professors shows that rapid bulk-testing for COVID-19 along with other standard mitigation measures such as mask-wearing and social distancing were the keys to successfully reopening college campuses during the pandemic.

Pamela Martinez, Christopher Brook and Rebecca Smith pose in lab

Study tracks COVID-19 infection dynamics in adults

May 2, 2022 1:30 pm

A team led by scientists at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign tracked the rise and fall of SARS-CoV-2 in the saliva and nasal cavities of people newly infected with the virus. The study was the first to follow acute COVID-19 infections over time through repeated sampling and to compare results from different testing methodologies.

red spiky ball rendering of COVID molecule

Survey measures health care delays during pandemic’s beginning

May 20, 2021 8:15 am

At the start of the COVID-19 outbreak, a University of Illinois Chicago researcher conducted a survey asking respondents if they experienced health care delays because of the pandemic. The study also presented a unique opportunity to capture a historic moment at the pandemic’s beginning.

Team creates new portable COVID-19 test

May 18, 2021 2:30 pm

A new coronavirus test can get accurate results from a saliva sample in less than 30 minutes, researchers report in the journal Nature Communications. Many of the components of the hand-held device used in this technology can be 3D-printed, and the test can detect as little as one viral particle per 1-microliter drop of fluid.

overhead view of factory in neighborhood emitting smoke from smokestacks

The environmental lessons of COVID-19

Jul 23, 2021 3:15 pm

Atmospheric scientists at University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign emphasize that the drop in carbon dioxide emissions during the pandemic needs more effort to be sustained.

This is the safest place in Illinois

Feb 4, 2021 8:15 am

How the U of I developed its own COVID-19 test and deployed it more than a million times (and counting).

UIC awarded $6 million to develop potential COVID-19 treatment

Jul 28, 2021 2:30 pm

Researchers at the University of Illinois Chicago are developing a potential treatment for COVID-19, thanks to a $6 million technology and therapeutic development award from the U.S. Department of Defense.

several masked, white coat lab workers gathered around a laptop in lab

UIC conducting community research on emerging variants

Jun 28, 2021 2:15 pm

Researchers at the University of Illinois Chicago are offering free rapid diagnostic testing for COVID-19 in vulnerable Chicago communities and performing genomic sequencing on the samples to identify variants as part of a National Institutes of Health-funded initiative called RADx-UP.

UIC epidemiologist uses TikTok to inform about COVID-19

Aug 25, 2021 9:15 am

Katrine Wallace, known as "Dr. Kat," is a UIC epidemiologist who is also a TikTok influencer. She has been using her platform to dispell myths and provide facts about COVID-19 and vaccines.

Stephanie Crawford, Wayne Giles, Phoenix Matthews

UIC experts part of vaccine work group

Jan 15, 2021 1:45 pm

Several UIC faculty are members of the Chicago Scientific COVID-19 Vaccine Work Group. This group, convened by the Chicago Department of Public Health, is tasked with independently evaluating whether or not the proper scientific and regulatory review has taken place for authorizing emergency use for COVID-19 vaccines.

patient in hat and mask getting vaccination in arm

UIC leads new collaborative to reduce COVID-19 disparities

May 24, 2021 8:15 am

The University of Illinois Chicago has been selected by the National Institutes of Health as the principal site of a multi-center collaborative in the Chicago area that will bolster research and outreach to help communities disproportionately affected by COVID-19.

Jason Brooks administers COVID-19 vaccine

UIC nursing students help with vaccine effort in Urbana

Feb 9, 2021 8:00 am

UIC Nursing students in Urbana are gaining valuable clinical skills and providing a critical service to the community by helping local public health departments administer the COVID-19 vaccine.

UIC report details failures of public policy responses to pandemic in Chicago

Mar 8, 2022 9:00 am

A new UIC report finds that despite efforts to address racial inequities during the pandemic in Chicago, vulnerable communities’ needs remained unmet.

UIC selected to lead Illinois-based team for U.S. RECOVER consortium

Jul 16, 2021 2:45 pm

UIC has been selected to lead an Illinois-based team for the U.S. RECOVER consortium. Dr. Jerrry Krishnan is a part of the team spearheading the efforts to bring health centers, community-based organizations and faith-based organizations in Chicago, Peoria, Rockford and Urbana together to form a network of state resources for a directory that can be available to people with long COVID-19.

UIC tests Cook County Jail wastewater to catch early outbreaks

Mar 5, 2021 8:00 am

On a recent morning, a UIC team, accompanied by doctors from the jail's Cermak Health Services and the Chicago Department of Health, showed NBC5 how they take samples from sewers at six different sites inside the jail complex.

scientist in white coat and mask processing blood samples in lab

UIC to participate in NIH phase two clinical trial on additional boosters

Apr 18, 2022 3:30 pm

The University of Illinois Chicago will participate in a National Institutes of Health phase two clinical trial evaluating additional COVID-19 booster shots for adults.

helathcare worker swabbing nose of patient

UIC to research long COVID-19 with $22 million from the NIH

Apr 7, 2022 9:30 am

A team of University of Illinois Chicago researchers is projected to receive approximately $22 million from the National Institutes of Health over four years to research long COVID-19.

UIC Urban Forum to focus on inclusive post-pandemic recovery

Apr 7, 2022 9:30 am

The University of Illinois Chicago’s 2022 Urban Forum will bring together civic leaders, public health professionals and economic development experts to discuss new ideas to create an inclusive and enduring pandemic recovery.

woman giving COVID-vaccination to resident

UIC vaccinating thousands at mass site, students pitch in

Feb 19, 2021 8:30 am

An expansive stadium at the UIC campus is serving a new purpose during the pandemic: The Credit Union 1 Arena now operates as a mass COVID-19 vaccination site, offering about 1,000 coveted doses to eligible residents every day. (Chicago Tribune)

Lorraine Brown with arms in air and mask on celebrating vaccination

UIC working to deliver vaccinations to city's most vulnerable

Mar 16, 2021 10:15 am

The University of Illinois Chicago along with Protect Chicago Plus have partnered to provide 1,000 COVID-19 vaccines to residents in the Englewood neighborhood, with plans to expand to other city areas with vulnerable populations.

UI Health establishes Post-COVID Clinic

Sep 1, 2021 8:00 am

A clinic at UI Health is now supporting patients who experience ongoing symptoms weeks and months after having COVID-19, a condition often referred to as “Long COVID.”

UI Health leads Chicago in providing vaccines for phase 1B

Feb 12, 2021 12:30 pm

On the first day it opened a community COVID-19 vaccination site, UIC and UI Health administered more than 1,600 shots to phase 1A and phase 1B eligible people, representing nearly a quarter of all vaccine doses (23%) distributed in Chicago on that day.

UI Health now operating 4 COVID-19 testing & triage clinics

Dec 10, 2020 10:45 am

UI Health teams have worked together to plan, develop, and launch four COVID-19 triage and testing sites at various locations to help manage the flow and influx of patients with COVID-19 symptoms and exposure.

UI Health offering vaccines to people in Phase 1B

Feb 1, 2021 10:15 am

UI Health is administering vaccinations to patients and some members of the public on the UIC campus by appointment.

audience viewing a UIS presentation on screen

UIS and Sangamon County working to document pandemic

May 19, 2022 3:00 pm

The Sangamon County historical society teamed up with the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum, the University of Illinois Springfield, and the Illinois State Museum to document the history of the pandemic.

UIS, Community Health Roundtable to host webinar on lasting effects of COVID-19

Jun 18, 2021 12:00 pm

The University of Illinois Springfield Innovation Hub, the UIS Center for State Policy and Leadership and the Community Health Roundtable will host a free public webinar titled “The Lasting Effects of COVID-19 on Patients, the Health Care System and the World."

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