A North Carolina hospital system terminated 175 employees over the Covid-19 vaccine mandate, making it one of the most significant mass terminations in the system’s history.

Last week Novant Health had announced that 375 employees across 15 hospitals and 800 clinics were out on suspension due to not getting the Covid-19 vaccine. The employees were given five days to comply with getting the jab or face termination. On Monday, Novant Health announced that approximately 175 employees had been terminated.

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Megan Rivers, the spokesperson for Novant Health, had tweeted on Monday that, as of Friday, roughly 200 employees had gotten their first dose of the vaccine.

“We stand by our decision to make the vaccine mandatory as we have a responsibility to protect our patients, visitors, and team members, regardless of where they are in our health system. We couldn’t be prouder of our team members who chose to receive the covid-19 vaccine and remain part of our team at Novant Health.” – Novant Health.

According to Rivers, 99 percent of Novant Health’s 35,000 employees complied with the vaccine mandate.

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Across the country, other healthcare systems have terminated numerous employees over the vaccine mandate. Houston Methodist fired more than 150 employees who refused to get vaccinated, and ChristianCare in Delaware fired 150 employees over the vaccine mandate.

Last month Biden had announced a vaccine mandate for any company that had 100 or more employees. He also mandated that most healthcare systems that accept Medicare and Medicaid mandate that their employees be vaccinated.

Novant Health had implemented its vaccine mandate on July 22 and gave employees until September 15 to be vaccinated. On September 21, they announced that they would provide employees with a few more days to get vaccinated, but if they did not comply, their employment with the company would be terminated. All employees must be fully vaccinated by October 15.

“We agree with the North Carolina Healthcare Association, the Infectious Diseases Society of America, and many other health care systems in the region that a mandatory vaccine program is in the best interest of public health. Simply put, it is essential to ensure the safety of our patients, team members and communities.” – Novant Health 

Any employee who has been granted an exemption must undergo weekly Covid-19 testing and wear an N95 mask while at work or other personal protective equipment.

Laura Rushing, who has been a nurse with Novant Healthcare for 16 years, was terminated for not getting the vaccine. She had submitted a religious exemption, and it was denied.

“When they put the mandate out there, one thing I knew for sure was I was not gonna take the shot. So, I put in for a religious exemption and got denied. Who decided my religious exemption, the wording used was not good enough? It wasn’t as good as someone else’s? That just feels like discrimination, and I didn’t appreciate it.” – Laura Rushing. 

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Many Americans have been forced to face the choice of getting vaccinated or losing their job and, along with that, their income. People are being forced to get vaccinated, while those imposing the mandate have no responsibility if an individual has an adverse reaction to the vaccine.

This piece was written by Zach Heilman on September 28, 2021. It originally appeared in RedVoiceMedia.com and is used by permission.

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