variant – CU-CitizenAccess.org

This illustration, created at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), reveals ultrastructural morphology exhibited by coronaviruses. Note the spikes that adorn the outer surface of the virus, which impart the look of a corona surrounding the virion, when viewed electron microscopically. A novel coronavirus, named Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), was identified as the cause of an outbreak of respiratory illness first detected in Wuhan, China in 2019. The illness caused by this virus has been named coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).

Two years later, COVID breaks death records in Champaign County

Post author:Dylan Tiger
Post published:March 30, 2022
Post category:CU-Covid19 Public Health

As the third year of the COVID-19 pandemic begins, cases plunge after the deadliest month for Champaign County just this year. Nearly 62,000 cases.…

Read more about the article County COVID breakthrough cases undercounted, but university offers more accurate numbers

McKinley Health Center website

McKinley Health Center on the University of Illinois campus.

County COVID breakthrough cases undercounted, but university offers more accurate numbers

Post author:Casey Daly / For CU-CitizenAccess
Post published:January 13, 2022
Post category:CU-Covid19 Education Public Health

Because the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) only requires healthcare administrators to report severe infections of COVID-19 among the fully vaccinated, the true number and percentage of vaccine breakthrough cases infections in Champaign County and across the nation is significantly undercounted, public health experts say. Data from the University of Illinois shows that breakthrough cases — severe and mild — are much larger than than the state numbers. Since May, 75.9% of, or more than three out of four, positive tests belonged to fully vaccinated students or staff.

University of Illinois

The logo for the University of Illinois's COVID-19 SHIELD saliva-based testing.

The story behind the race to test for COVID-19 at the University of Illinois

Post author:Raleigh Butler / For CU-CitizenAccess
Post published:January 12, 2022
Post category:CU-Covid19 Education Public Health

It was late the evening of April 22, 2020 when Martin Burke, a then 44-year-old professor of chemistry, received a phone call from the university provost. The provost, Andreas Cangellaris, requested that Burke develop a COVID-19 testing program for the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign campus. Over the next week, Burke gathered eight more team members, forming the founding members of what was known as the SHIELD team. The first SHIELD meeting was held on April 30, 2020, just eight days after the Provost’s call.