CHARLOTTE, N.C. — This week marked the deadline for employees of multiple companies in the Charlotte area to get vaccinated against COVID-19 or face possible termination, including Atrium Health.
Monday, Nov. 1 is the deadline for thousands of Tyson Foods employees to get the COVID-19 vaccine. The deadline for Atrium was originally Oct. 31, but the company pushed its deadline to be fully vaccinated to the end of November.
When asked about the new deadline, an Atrium Health spokesperson said, in part:
"As we closed in on the Oct. 31 deadline, many of our teammates shared their desire to become fully compliant but needed a little more time. We are recognizing these good faith efforts, and teammates who have received at least one shot are considered on their way to being in compliance with our vaccination policies, as long as they complete their second shot by Nov. 30. We anticipate less than 1% will not be in compliance by Nov. 30."
In the summer, both Novant and Atrium Health employees protested the mandates.
“We have a tool to not only keep them safe, to keep their patients safe but also their family members safe. And so hospitals and health systems are feeling like this is a really important part to continuing to end the pandemic," Nicholle Karim, senior director of policy development for the North Carolina Healthcare Association, said.
Karim said the majority of healthcare systems in the state are requiring the COVID-19 vaccine like they do with the annual flu shot.
The North Carolina Healthcare Association supports the mandates but says keeping staffing levels up is critical.
“It’s all about making sure people have the education that they need to be able to make those decisions," Karim said.
Novant Health's deadline to be fully vaccinated was Oct. 15, and 175 people who did not get an exemption or the shots were fired.
Atrium Health did not share how many exemptions were granted.
“Research has shown again and again that the vaccine is our best defense against serious illness or death," Karim said.
Last week, Tyson said more than 96% of its workforce was vaccinated against COVID-19. A company spokesperson said on Oct. 1 that more than 10,000 employees were vaccinated after the company mandated the shot in August.
Before the mandate was announced, only 50% of Tyson employees were vaccinated. Tyson Foods has multiple plants in North Carolina, including a facility in Union County.
Contact Chloe Leshner at cleshner@wcnc.com and follow her on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
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