More than 100 Novant Health employees terminated for not getting COVID-19 vaccine – WSOC TV

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Practically 200 of 375 suspended Novant Well being workers who weren’t vaccinated final week got here into compliance with its obligatory COVID-19 vaccination program, officers stated Monday. The remainder of the staff have been terminated.

Novant unveiled its obligatory vaccination coverage on July 22, saying then that it will require full compliance by Sept. 15. In a information launch, Novant Well being stated the affected staff would have a five-day interval to adjust to the vaccine mandate or be dismissed.

Final Tuesday, Novant stated almost 400 of its staff confronted dismissal for not complying.

Now, the hospital system stated greater than 99% of its greater than 35,000 workers are at the moment compliant. It considers staff to be compliant if they’ve acquired the single-dose Johnson & Johnson vaccine or the primary dose of the Moderna or Pfizer vaccines.

In response to Novant, workers with only one Moderna or Pfizer dose have till Oct. 15 to get the second dose.

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

After 16 years with Novant Well being, nurse Laura Dashing stated she is in search of a brand new job. She had hoped to retire from the hospital, however stated the denial of her exemption left her with no recourse.

“Once they put the mandate on the market, one factor I knew for certain was I used to be not gonna take the shot. So, I put in for a spiritual exemption and bought denied,” Dashing stated. “Who determined my spiritual exemption, the wording used was not ok? It wasn’t pretty much as good as another person’s? That simply appears like discrimination and I didn’t respect it.”

Channel 9′s Tina Terry requested Novant if terminations and resignations associated to the vaccine mandate will have an effect on workers shortages and on affected person care. The hospital system despatched the next assertion:

“We’re all the time recruiting, and any recruitment efforts wouldn’t be in direct response to the mandate. Like healthcare methods throughout the nation, we’re being impacted by a nationwide nursing scarcity, which existed previous to the pandemic and has been additional exacerbated by the pandemic.

“We proceed to be proactive in addressing this scarcity, and have developed complete staffing contingency plans to organize for an array of various eventualities.”

(Watch Under: Lots of collect at Freedom Park to protest Atrium, Novant Well being’s worker vaccine mandate)