"Illinois Institute of Technology (Illinois Tech) researchers have reallocated university lab resources with the aim of being able to produce 13,000 tubes of VTM (viral transport medium) per week, the critical substance in the COVID-19 testing tubes that preserves sample swabs until testing, for the Illinois Department of Public Health.

Governor J. B. Pritzker announced the partnership with Illinois Tech, as well as other universities, at his Thursday press briefing. Over the last month, Pritzker said it had been difficult for state labs to obtain the VTM tubes and swabs, threatening the testing supply chain.

“Our university partners of Illinois Tech, Southern Illinois University in Carbondale and the University of Illinois at Chicago and University of Illinois-Urbana-Champaign, as well as outside vendors, have committed collectively to providing us with enough VTM and swabs that we can not only stock our state labs, but support additional labs throughout the state. This means even more specimens being taken for testing,” Pritzker said Thursday.

“Illinois Tech is honored to partner with the state of Illinois to help with this critical mission of COVID-19 testing,” said Illinois Tech President Alan W. Cramb. “We have special expertise and unique facilities that allow us to answer our state’s call by quickly coming together to mobilize our labs for the greater good.” Read more here.