Dear Members of the Health Sciences Community:

Members of our community have inquired about the University of Pittsburgh’s plans as they relate to distributing COVID-19 vaccines to Health Sciences students who are in clinical settings.    

I am writing today to confirm that, beginning the week of Jan. 11, UPMC will start vaccinating a limited number of Pitt Health Sciences students each week, with prioritization given to students who are doing rotations in the highest risk, patient-facing settings. This development—announced today—is the direct result of a close and careful collaboration between UPMC and Pitt and is possible thanks to the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania’s recent decision to allow UPMC to begin vaccinating non-employee affiliates.  

Given that COVID-19 vaccine supplies are limited, this process will take time, and I appreciate—in advance—your patience and understanding. Once identified, students can expect to receive an email, via their Pitt email account, informing them of their vaccination appointment details.

As indicated in the Jan. 5 CMRO update: Pitt is awaiting state approval to independently distribute vaccines to our own community members and our planning efforts on this front are already underway.

The safety and well-being of our students, faculty and staff—as always—remain a top priority.