100+ health workers fired for refusing vaccine

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Nearly 200 of 375 suspended Novant Health employees who were not vaccinated past week came into compliance with its mandatory COVID-19 vaccination program, officials said Monday. The remainder of the employees person been terminated.

Novant unveiled its mandatory vaccination argumentation connected July 22, saying past that it would necessitate afloat compliance by Sept. 15. In a quality release, Novant Health said the affected workers would person a five-day play to comply with the vaccine mandate oregon beryllium dismissed.

Last Tuesday, Novant said astir 400 of its workers faced dismissal for not complying.

Now, the infirmary strategy said much than 99% of its much than 35,000 employees are presently compliant. It considers workers to beryllium compliant if they person received the single-dose Johnson & Johnson vaccine oregon the archetypal dose of the Moderna oregon Pfizer vaccines.

According to Novant, employees with conscionable 1 Moderna oregon Pfizer dose person until Oct. 15 to get the 2nd dose.

[ PREVIOUS COVERAGE: Novant says astir 99% of workers are vaccinated; 375 look firings ]

After 16 years with Novant Health, caregiver Laura Rushing said she is looking for a caller job. She had hoped to discontinue from the hospital, but said the denial of her exemption near her with nary recourse.

“When they enactment the mandate retired there, 1 happening I knew for definite was I was not gonna instrumentality the shot. So, I enactment successful for a spiritual exemption and got denied,” Rushing said. “Who decided my spiritual exemption, the wording utilized was not bully enough? It wasn’t arsenic bully arsenic idiosyncratic else’s? That conscionable feels similar favoritism and I didn’t admit it.”

Channel 9′s Tina Terry asked Novant if terminations and resignations related to the vaccine mandate volition person an interaction connected unit shortages and connected diligent care. The infirmary strategy sent the pursuing statement:

“We are ever recruiting, and immoderate recruitment efforts would not beryllium successful nonstop effect to the mandate. Like healthcare systems crossed the country, we are being impacted by a nationalist nursing shortage, which existed anterior to the pandemic and has been further exacerbated by the pandemic.

“We proceed to beryllium proactive successful addressing this shortage, and person developed broad staffing contingency plans to hole for an array of antithetic scenarios.”

(Watch Below: Hundreds stitchery astatine Freedom Park to protestation Atrium, Novant Health’s worker vaccine mandate)

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