A North Carolina-Based Health Care Provider Terminates Employees for Not Getting the COVID-19 Vaccine
Employees who received exemptions from getting vaccinated must follow specific protocols while at work.
- By Shereen Hashem
- Sep 23, 2021
As of Tuesday, North-Carolina based health care provider has suspended hundreds of employees for not meeting the company’s COVID-19 vaccine requirements. Novant Health says employees should have already received at least one dose of the vaccine or applied for and received a medical or religious exemption, according to an article. Around 375 workers across 15 hospitals, hundreds of clinics and outpatient facilities are now suspended for not doing so.
Anyone who does not comply with the vaccine policy put in place within the five-day, unpaid suspension period will lose their job, the Winston Salem-based company said. About 98.6 percent of the company’s more than 35,000 workers are compliant with the policy. Workers who started the two-dose vaccines will have until October 15 to get their second dose.
Employees that receive exemptions, however, must undergo weekly testing. They are also required to wear N95 respirators, masks or other PPE while working at Novant Health.
President Joe Biden mentioned he would require the 17 million health care workers at facilities receiving funds from Medicare and Medicaid to be fully vaccinated, including home care facilities, hospitals and dialysis centers. Besides Novant Health, other health care systems and hospitals have also suspended or terminated people’s jobs who didn’t comply with vaccine policies.
About the Author
Shereen Hashem is the Associate Content Editor for Occupational Health & Safety magazine.