By offering a regular testing alternative to vaccination, the University spent a lot of time and resources catering to the slim percentage of holdouts who would be affected by a vaccine requirement.

The current test return rate is below 10% for unvaccinated students, meaning that the testing alternative is essentially useless as a public health tool.

Chancellor Patrick Gallagher said at Pitt’s Friday board of trustees meeting that while the University community can look forward to a more engaging fall semester, a fully normal academic year is unlikely unless those coming back to campus are vaccinated.

Pitt added 13 new COVID-19 cases, composed of 12 students and 1 employee, between Friday and Monday, continuing an upward trend in reported cases, though less than in previous case reports.

Vorndran is one of the roughly 2,200 students Pitt has tested thus far as part of its surveillance testing program. This program includes randomly selecting students living on and off campus for self-conducted COVID-19 testing.

Pitt added four new COVID-19 cases, composed of three students and one employee, as of Friday’s weekly case report.

There are resources safer than relying on the internet — even for those without health insurance.