Since January of this year, the Office of the Vice President for Research has partnered with the University of Utah Health Operations and Core facilities to develop rapid asymptomatic testing for the U’s campus community. Beginning Sept. 7, this free, weekly asymptomatic testing will be extended to the immediate family and household members of university staff, students and faculty.

Asymptomatic testing is crucial for restricting COVID-19 transmission on campus. The U has world-class facilities that take samples and process the tests on-site, making it the only public Utah university offering the highly accurate tests for free. Keeping all the steps in-house means results come back fast.

“If you get your test sample in before noon, you’ll usually get results back that same afternoon. The tests average at well under a 24-hour turnaround. It doesn’t get any quicker than that,” said John Phillips, associate dean of research and infrastructure for the School of Medicine and director of the Health Science Center (HSC) Core facilities where the samples are processed.

For more information or to schedule an asymptomatic coronavirus test, click here.

At the start of the pandemic, the HSC Sequencing Core staff put in enormous effort to adapt their facilities to detect the SARS-Cov-2 virus. The specialized technology allows the U to process accurate rapid saliva tests, and to partner with the state of Utah to track coronavirus variants.

“We’re starting to see more breakthrough cases, often in asymptomatic individuals who are fully immunized but still positive. Testing remains an effective way to limit spread to the elderly, the immunocompromised, and unvaccinated children,” said Cameron Wright, program manager for campus COVID-19 testing. “We are remarkably fortunate to have this free, quick, accurate, accessible testing provided on campus by this Core Labs team.”

According to Andrew Weyrich, vice president for research, “We are the only university in the state with resources and capability to make this type of resource available on campus, and we highly encourage our U community and their households to come in and get tested regularly. Catching COVID-19 early through asymptomatic testing is critical in slowing the spread within our communities, especially while we’re seeing an uptick in cases throughout the country.”