Mitigation of SARS-CoV-2 transmission at a large public university

• Authors: Diana Rose E Ranoa, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign; Robin L Holland, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign; Fadi G Alnaji, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign; Kelsie J Green, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign; Leyi Wang, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign; Richard L Fredrickson, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign; Tong Wang, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign; George N Wong, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign; Johnny Uelmen, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign; Sergei Maslov, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign; Zachary J Weiner, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign; Alexei Tkachenko, Brookhaven National Laboratory; Hantao Zhang, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign; Zhiru Liu, Stanford University; Ahmed Ibrahim, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign; Sanjay J Patel, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign; John M Paul, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign; Nickolas P Vance, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign; Joseph G Gulick, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign; Sandeep Puthanveetil Satheesan, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign; Isaac J Galvan, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign; Andrew Miller, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign; Jospeh Grohens, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign; Todd J Nelson, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign; Mary P Stevens, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign; Mark P Hennessy, Inabyte, Navato; Robert C Parker, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign; Edward Santos, OSF Healthcare; Charles Brackett, OSF Healthcare; Julie D Steinman, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign; Melvin R Fenner, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign; Kirstin Dohrer, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign; Michael DeLorenzo, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign; Laura Wilhelm-Barr, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign; Brian R Brauer, Illinois Fire Service Institute; Catherine Best-Popescu, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign; Gary Durack, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign; Nathan Wetter, Tekmill; David M Kranz, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign; Jessica Breitbarth, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign; Charlie Simpson, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign; Julie A Pryde, Champaign-Urbana Public Health District; Robin N Kaler, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign; Chris Harris, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign; Allison C Vance, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign; Jodi L Silotto, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign; Mark Johnson, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign; Enrique Andres Valera, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign; Patricia K Anton, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign; Lowa Mwilambwe, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign; Stephen P Bryan, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign; Deborah S Stone, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign; Danita B Young, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign; Wanda E Ward, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign; John Lantz, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign; John A Vozenilek, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign; Rashid Bashir, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign; Jeffrey S Moore, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign; Mayank Garg, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign; Julian C Cooper, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign; Gillian Snyder, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign; Michelle H Lore, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign; Dustin L Yocum, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign; Neal J Cohen, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign; Jan E Novakofski, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign; Melanie J Loots, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign; Randy L Ballard, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign; Mark Band, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign; Kayla M Banks, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign; Joseph D Barnes, University of Illinois Health, Chicago; Iuliana Bentea, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign; Jessica Black, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign; Jeremy Busch, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign; Abigail Conte, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health; Madison Conte, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine; Michael Curry, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign; Jennifer Eardley, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign; April Edwards, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign; Therese Eggett, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign; Judes Fleurimont, University of Illinois Health; Delaney Foster, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign; Bruce W Fouke, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign; Nicholas Gallagher, Johns Hopkins University; Nicole Gastala, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health; Scott A Genung, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign; Declan Glueck, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign; Brittani Gray, University of Illinois Health; Andrew Greta, University of Illinois System Office; Robert M Healy, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign; Ashley Hetrick, University of Wisconsin-Madison; Arianna A Holterman, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign; Nahed Ismail, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign; Ian Jasenof, University of Illinois Health; Patrick Kelly, University of Wisconsin-Madison; Aaron Kielbasa, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign; Teresa Kiesel, University of Wisconsin-Madison; Lorenzo M Kindle, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign; Rhonda L Lipking, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign; Yukari C Manabe, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Baltimore; Reubin McGuffin, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign; Kenton G McHenry, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign; Agha Mirza, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Baltimore; Jada Moseley, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign; Heba H Mostafa, Johns Hopkins University; Melody Mumford, University of Illinois Health, Chicago; Kathleen Munoz, University of Illinois Health, Chicago; Arika D Murray, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign; Moira Nolan, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign; Nil A Parikh, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign; Andrew Pekosz, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore; Janna Pflugmacher, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign; Janise M Phillips, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign; Collin Pitts, University of Wisconsin-Madison; Mark C Potter, University of Illinois at Chicago; James Quisenberry, University of Illinois at Chicago; Janelle Rear, University of Illinois System, Urbana; Matthew L Robinson, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine; Edith Rosillo, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign; Leslie N Rye, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign; MaryEllen Sherwood, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign; Anna Simon, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign; Jamie M Singson, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign; Carly Skadden, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign; Tina H Skelton, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign; Charlie Smith, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign; Mary Stech, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign; Ryan Thomas, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign; Mattew A Tomaszewski, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign; Erika A Tyburski, Emory University; Scott Vanwingerden, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign; Evette Vlach, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign; Ronald S Watkins, University of Illinois System Office, Urbana; Karriem Watson, University of Illinois Health, Chicago; Karen C White, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana; Timothy L Killeen, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana; Robert J Jones, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana; Andreas C Cangellaris, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana; Susan A Martinis, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana; Awais Vaid, Champaign-Urbana Public Health District; Christopher B Brooke, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana; Joseph T Walsh, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana; Ahmed Elbanna, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana; William C Sullivan, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana; Rebecca L Smith, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana; Nigel Goldenfeld, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana; Timothy M Fan, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana; Paul J Hergenrother, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana; Martin D Burke, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana
• Journal Title: NATURE COMMUNICATIONS
• Volume: Volume 13, Number 1
• Publisher: NATURE PORTFOLIO | 2022-06-09, Pages 3207-3207
• Type of Work: Article | Final Publisher PDF
• Publisher DOI: http://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-022-30833-3
• Subjects: Chemistry, General; Chemistry, Biochemistry; Health Sciences, Pathology
• Keywords: Science & Technology; Multidisciplinary Sciences; Science & Technology - Other Topics; INFECTION; COVID-19

Abstract

In Fall 2020, universities saw extensive transmission of SARS-CoV-2 among their populations, threatening health of the university and surrounding communities, and viability of in-person instruction. Here we report a case study at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, where a multimodal “SHIELD: Target, Test, and Tell” program, with other non-pharmaceutical interventions, was employed to keep classrooms and laboratories open. The program included epidemiological modeling and surveillance, fast/frequent testing using a novel low-cost and scalable saliva-based RT-qPCR assay for SARS-CoV-2 that bypasses RNA extraction, called covidSHIELD, and digital tools for communication and compliance. In Fall 2020, we performed >1,000,000 covidSHIELD tests, positivity rates remained low, we had zero COVID-19-related hospitalizations or deaths amongst our university community, and mortality in the surrounding Champaign County was reduced more than 4-fold relative to expected. This case study shows that fast/frequent testing and other interventions mitigated transmission of SARS-CoV-2 at a large public university.