While surveillance testing will continue for students during the spring semester, Pitt has decided not to expand that program to faculty and staff. Instead, the University is recommending targeted COVID-19 testing for faculty and staff in specific circumstances based on exposure, according to an announcement on Jan. 21.

Those who qualify include people who:

1. Are identified as a close contact through exposure to someone who has COVID-19.

2. Work in an area on campus that has been identified as having a localized outbreak.

3. Have traveled outside the area in which you reside for either University business or personal reasons.

Anyone who meets any of these criteria should be quarantining. Pitt has partnered with Quest Diagnostics to provide the tests, which can be ordered using a link on the newly created faculty and staff testing page at coronavirus.pitt.edu.

This testing is not for symptomatic individuals. Contact MyHealth@Work Work if you have symptoms to determine whether testing is indicated. If testing is indicated, it will be arranged through Employee Health.

Faculty and staff test results will be shared with MyHealth@Work, just as student test results are shared with Student Health Service. These records are not shared anywhere else. Contact MyHealth@Work with questions at 412-647-4949.

Pitt plans to eventually be an official provider of COVID-19 vaccines, but for now is just hosting an Allegheny County Health Department event this week at the Petersen Events Center to vaccinate people in the 1A category, including clinical students in the health sciences who are patient-facing.

To prepare for Pitt to provide vaccines, a survey is going out to all faculty, staff and students this week to help in prioritizing vaccinations for people within group 1A. This will enable the logistics, equipment, staff and IT infrastructure to be set up to distribute vaccines as soon as Pitt is approved as a provider.