SHIELD Illinois is a COVID-19screening testing program and infrastructure designed to help safely open schools, protect workplaces, and save lives. This specific test was designed by University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign researchers and was supported by the university’s leadership team. The testing and strategy created by these individuals was named SHIELD. Our mission as a land-grant institution is to use our capabilities and resources for the public good by deploying this method of targeting, testing, and informing beyond the U of I System to the entire state of Illinois.