These NC Hospital Systems Now Requiring Employee Vaccinations

NORTH CAROLINA — Five hospital systems in North Carolina, including two in the Charlotte metro, are now requiring all their employees get vaccinated against COVID-19, according to reports.

The hospital systems include Atrium Health, Novant Health, Cone Health, Duke Health and Wake Forest Baptist, WFAE reported. Six facilities in the UNC Health hospital system will also require all their workers to get vaccinated.

In Charlotte, Novant Health employees have until Sept. 15 to be fully vaccinated, while Atrium Health will require that status by Oct. 31.

“We appreciate and acknowledge the tens of thousands of team members who eagerly received the vaccine,” Novant Health said in a statement, the radio station reported. “Unfortunately, the reality is that vaccination rates remain stagnant across the country, including at Novant Health.”

The announcement comes as vaccination rates throughout North Carolina continue to lag as the Delta variant accounts for about 80 percent of all new COVID-19 cases in the state, according to public health officials.

As of July 21, about 60 percent of adults in the state had received at least one dose of vaccine, while 56 percent of adults were considered fully vaccinated. Among children eligible for vaccination, the rates are dramatically lower — more than 75 percent of those ages 12-17 eligible for vaccine in the state remained unvaccinated.

Of the more than 700 hospitalizations for COVID-related illness, at least 94 percent are unvaccinated, according to the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services.

"We are seeing the impact of the very contagious Delta variant of COVID-19, and it's hitting those who are unvaccinated very hard," DHHS Secretary Mandy Cohen said Wednesday. "Cases are up. Hospitalizations are up. The percent of tests that are positive are up, and we know that even people who have a mild case of COVID-19 may struggle with long term effects, like shortness of breath, chest pains and brain fog."

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