Effective December 6, 2021, all University of Pittsburgh students, faculty and staff on all campuses must be vaccinated against COVID-19 or have received an approved exemption to remain a community member. During the fall, the University strongly advised everyone in our community to get fully vaccinated and mandated compliance with a virus control program. These measures worked in the short-term, with more than 93% of Pitt students, faculty, and staff disclosing that they are vaccinated, and as a result our campuses have remained healthy and safe environments.

While successful to date, this approach is not sustainable in the long term. The most successful and sustainable approach to keeping our community healthy and safe is one that utilizes vaccination as a condition of studying or working on our campuses. By enforcing this requirement now, we will be able to maintain a high immunization rate on our campuses, while continuing to support our students and research, as well as protect our workforce, with minimal disruption to our programs, activities or operations.

This requirement will affect approximately 2,250 students, 240 faculty and 700 staff who have not disclosed vaccination status. Failure to meet the December 6 deadline will result in the following:

• Currently enrolled students will not be eligible to enroll in spring 2022 term classes or live in the residence halls as of January 1, 2022. Students who enroll for spring class prior to December 6 but fail to provide proof or obtain an exemption by this deadline will be disenrolled.
   
• Current faculty and staff will be subject to disciplinary action, which will include loss of access to electronic resources and other disciplinary actions up to and including termination of employment.

Starting November 8, 2021, faculty, staff and students can request an exemption from this vaccine requirement for medical reasons, or reasons based on sincerely held religious belief or because of a strong moral or ethical conviction. Exemption requests will be reviewed on a case-by-case basis by the Office for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion. Faculty, staff and students that are granted an exemption will be subject to additional mitigation measures, such as routine COVID-19 testing.

This is an interim policy. A formal charter and committee are being formed to create a permanent policy. Read the full policy online at policy.pitt.edu. Visit coronavirus.pitt.edu for more information on the vaccine requirement.