SHIELD COVID-19 testing could begin in DeKalb School District in 2 weeks, officials say

DeKALB – Amid a continued call for more COVID-19 testing in local schools during a statewide mandate, DeKalb District 428 officials said Tuesday SHIELD testing is targeted to arrive in October.

Mary Lynn Buckner, co-president of the DeKalb Classroom Teachers’ Association, attended Tuesday’s DeKalb Board of Education meeting to call for expedited SHIELD testing. It’s a call many local school districts are asking for, amid a statewide mandate which began Monday, requiring all Illinois educators to test weekly for the virus or provide proof of full vaccination.

“There is no on-site COVID-19 testing for staff or students, and the governor’s mandate has made testing very necessary, in particular for unvaccinated staff,” she said. “I’ve heard [from other teachers] that it’s difficult to get tested, and SHIELD testing would make the testing process easier.”

Local school districts do offer the BinaxNOW test, a rapid COVID-19 test distributed by the local health department to districts for use on students or staff exhibiting symptoms, not meant as a screener for weekly required tests, health officials have said.

SHIELD testing at DeKalb School District is targeted to begin the first week of October, officials said Tuesday.

Superintendent Minerva Garcia-Sanchez said more than 500 staff members have not yet shown proof of their vaccination and must be tested weekly.

“A small percentage have already completed their weekly testing, and we are asking for them to provide evidence,” Garcia-Sanchez said. “Once SHIELD testing becomes available at our school district, the testing process will be much easier.”

The SHIELD Illinois COVID-19 test was developed by the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. The non-invasive saliva test is free of charge, with results reported the next day. According to Gov. JB Pritzker’s vaccine mandate, all Illinois educators or anyone working in schools must get vaccinated, or submit to required weekly COVID-19 testing until they do so. The weekly testing went effect Monday, Sept. 20, after Pritzker extended the vaccination deadline to Sept. 19 at the request of schools.

Many local school district officials in DeKalb County last week expressed concern at what they said was lack of access to testing, not only in local schools but around the greater community at large.

“Because there was so much demand all of a sudden, it’s taking a little bit of time to get onboarded,” said Lisa Gonzalez, public health administrator with the DeKalb County Health Department last week.

[ COVID-19 testing access a challenge amid Illinois vaccine mandates, say local school, health officials ]

Two days into the governor’s mandate, Deetra Sallis, director of human resources at DeKalb School District 428, said that being tested has so far been difficult.

“There are not a lot of local sites for testing, so [staff] has had to travel to surrounding areas,” Sallis said. “Due to the mandate, there has been an increased demand for testing, which has decreased labs’ ability to turn around testing results. But all district staff is expected to do everything in their power to be tested if they are unvaccinated.”

Sallis said that staff must either show proof of their vaccination or undergo weekly COVID-19 testing.

“Any staff that does not show proof of their vaccination is considered unvaccinated and must provide negative test results weekly,” she said. “They can share their results by completing a form, which they can upload online. The district is monitoring the test results.”

Sallis said that the goal of vaccination and weekly testing is “ultimately to keep everyone safe and healthy.”

“Our goal is to keep our staff and students healthy and COVID-free,” she said. “As educators, the health and safety of our students and the community is always first.”