A day after it was announced, some of Western Pennsylvania’s largest employers were still working out plans to comply with President Joe Biden’s vaccine mandate for companies with more than 100 employees.

Most regional companies contacted on Friday said they were still going through the comprehensive plan announced Thursday evening. Biden’s new “goals and ambitious steps” include a mandate for companies with more than 100 employees to require vaccination or a weekly covid-19 test. The penalty could be up to $14,000 for each individual violation.

The Associated Press reached out to numerous companies in the wake of the announcement, the outlet reported. Many, like General Motors and Ford, said they favor vaccines but were analyzing the executive order. Others noted that they already require vaccinations. Walmart, the nation’s largest private employer, was one of the first major companies to mandate vaccines for some of its workers.

The announcement affects numerous Western Pennsylvania institutions that previously said they would not mandate vaccination for their employees.

Vaccines were encouraged but not required for the more than 90,000 employees at UPMC, Pennsylvania’s largest non-government employer, prior to Biden’s announcement. Leaders there had held firm in that stance since vaccines were rolled out for health care workers early this year.

In a statement Friday, a spokesperson for UPMC said leadership “is reviewing the announcement by the president and awaiting further guidance regarding implementation and details.”

“We believe everyone eligible should get the covid-19 vaccine,” UPMC wrote. “Vaccination saves lives – it protects you, your loved ones and our communities.”

Excela Health, which employs about 4,300 workers as Westmoreland County’s largest employer, had been contemplating a vaccine requirement for their health care workers, they previously told the Tribune-Review.

Now that they’re required to mandate the shots, Excela “will certainly abide by what is required of us and other providers,” spokesperson Robin Jennings said.

“As data related to unvaccinated patients being hospitalized and requiring ventilation reveal, the benefits of vaccination are abundantly clear,” Jennings said, adding they are awaiting “further guidance and detail regarding the federal initiative in order to formulate our next steps.”

Similarly, ATI spokeswoman Natalie Gillespie said they are “committed to implementing whatever is required of us, with the goal of ensuring a safe workplace for all,” though the company could not yet announce finalized plans regarding vaccination requirements for employees.

“Keeping our people safe is our foremost concern,” she said. “Together, we have worked diligently to mitigate the pandemic’s spread within our operations and our communities.”

Several other companies declined to elaborate on plans, as they’re still in the works.

“PPG looks forward to learning more as additional details are available,” PPG spokesperson Greta Edgar said in an email. “We continue to strongly encourage employees to consider vaccination.”

Eat’n Park said more details would be released as a plan is developed.

Others still, including several universities and local governments, already had plans in place that mirrored Biden’s announcement.

At the University of Pittsburgh, employees already faced showing proof of vaccination or undergo weekly testing.

“The University’s current requirement to be vaccinated or complete covid-19 testing weekly aligns with the new expectations,” university spokesman Kevin Zwick said.

Across all of Pitt’s campuses, 83% of the Pitt community had uploaded proof of vaccination by Friday morning, he said, and mandatory weekly covid-19 testing for unvaccinated individuals began last week.

Allegheny County Executive Rich Fitzgerald in early August announced that new county hires would have to be vaccinated, and all current county employees who are unvaccinated are subject to weekly testing. Mayor Bill Peduto announced a similar procedure for city employees a day later.

Biden, in his announcement, said he is also signing an executive order to require vaccination for employees of the executive branch and contractors who do business with the federal government — with no option to test out. That covers several million more workers.

“What you heard the president convey yesterday is the next steps that he is taking using every lever of government to reduce sicknesses, to reduce hospitalizations, to protect more people and save more lives,” White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said Friday.

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