Pitt continues to sort through vaccine mandate

Dec. 7—Officials at the University of Pittsburgh aren't saying how many students, faculty and staff are facing ouster for failure to meet today's deadline to provide proof of covid-19 vaccination or an approved exemption.

Unlike officials at Excela Health System and UPMC who have temporarily put their vaccine mandates on hold, Pitt gave no indication it was backing off its previously announced deadline for vaccine compliance.

Universities across the region adopted mixed policies last fall with regard to vaccination mandates. Although Pitt held off on issuing a mandate, locally Carnegie Mellon, Duquesne and Chatham universities all issued vaccine mandates prior to the start of the fall semester.

Pitt officials, who have strongly recommended vaccination, began asking staff and students to provide proof of vaccine status at the start of the fall semester. They followed up with a Nov. 1 announcement that students, staff and faculty at all locations would be required to be vaccinated or have a valid exemption by Dec. 6.

At the time, the university said about 93% of its student, faculty and staff had already provided proof of vaccination, with the status of 2,250 students, 240 faculty members and 700 staff still unreported.

University officials said those who failed to meet the vaccine requirement would not be permitted to live in Pitt facilities or attend class next year and that employees could face sanctions up to and including termination.

The university released a statement Monday saying it is still "working with those who wish to come into compliance" with the policy.

"Final determinations regarding policy compliance, including employee status and student disenrollment, will be made in early January. We will report compliance numbers at that time," Pitt officials said.

Deb Erdley is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Deb at 724-850-1209, derdley@triblive.com or via Twitter .