Leer en Español
North Carolina’s Novant Health hospital system announced Monday that approximately 175 unvaccinated employees were fired for failing to comply with the mandatory coronavirus vaccination mandate.
According to The Washington Post, Novant Health said last week that 375 unvaccinated workers at 15 hospitals and 800 clinics had been suspended for failing to vaccinate.
Novant Health spokeswoman Megan Rivers said Monday that nearly 200 of the suspended workers received their first dose on Friday. She also confirmed that the rest of the suspended employees who did not comply were fired, although the exact number was not specified.
“These added safety measures are in place to ensure patient and team member safety and preserve staffing levels,” Novant Health said in a statement.
Vaccination mandate
The company’s decision comes in response to President Joe Biden’s mandatory vaccination mandate. The measure affected at least 100 million workers nationwide. The Democrat said that with this plan he intends to reduce hospitalizations and deaths due to the virus.
“I am announcing a new plan to combat COVID-19, based on our whole-of-government approach. The plan will vaccinate more people, decrease hospitalizations and deaths, and keep our schools and our economy open,” Biden said.
Biden’s decision has been criticized by some governors. For example, Florida’s Ron DeSantis considers Biden’s mandate “intrusive and illegal.”
In fact, the Florida Department of Health issued a regulation imposing a $5,000 fine on entities, businesses, schools and government agencies that violate SB 2006, a law enacted by DeSantis’ office in May that prevents public and private entities from requiring proof of vaccination from employees, users and clients.
Despite these measures, the Democratic chairman maintained that the vaccination mandate will be enforced even if Republican governors try to prevent it.
“If these governors won’t help us beat the pandemic, I’ll use my power as President to get them out of the way,” Biden said.
