Our approach this fall
We are mandating compliance with our virus control program for everyone at the University, including students, faculty, staff, guests and contractors. Due to the effectiveness of the vaccines, global mitigation and containment strategies may be relaxed for individuals who are fully vaccinated. Therefore, the virus control program requirements that apply to you will generally depend on your vaccination status.
We will only know if you are fully vaccinated if you provide us proof of your vaccination status. By early August, we plan to release details on how students, faculty and staff can voluntarily disclose their vaccination status to the University. In general, Pitt will assume that every student, faculty and staff member is unvaccinated until they disclose otherwise and provide evidence of being fully vaccinated. The use of an individual’s vaccination status will be limited to the purposes of our virus control program by appropriately authorized personnel.
Our COVID-19 Medical Response Office (CMRO)—working in close collaboration with our Healthcare Advisory Group—will continue to modify mitigation and containment measures so that we can effectively prevent and limit the spread of the virus on our campuses. Like last year, we may adjust these measures based on the risk of infection in our environment and due to changes in federal, state and local health guidance. Unlike last year, these measures will be tailored based on your disclosed vaccination status.
If you are not fully vaccinated (or have not disclosed this information to us), you will be required to participate in the following containment measures:
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Mandatory virus testing—the frequency will be established by our CMRO, but this could be as often as once a week.
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Contact tracing to identify potential exposure.
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Quarantine and/or isolation if exposed or infected.
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For students living in on-campus housing: Negative COVID-19 test results before arrival.
Global mitigation requirements (e.g., universal masking) may continue apply to everyone, as determined by our Healthcare Advisory Group.
Failure to comply with any required virus control measure may result in disciplinary action, including the loss of access to University buildings and activities.
We will be releasing more information about our approach—including how to voluntarily disclose your vaccination status—in the weeks ahead. Please continue to monitor your email and coronavirus.pitt.edu for additional information.
Wishing you all a restful and healthy remainder of the summer,
Patrick Gallagher