Novant Employees Face Job Loss If Non-Compliant With Vaccine Mandate

Novant Health says that about 375 staffers are in danger of termination for not complying with the network's vaccine mandate. 

Novant officials say that roughly 98 percent of the system's 35,000 employees have complied with the health system's mandatory vaccination program.

According to a news release, workers are considered compliant if they have received the single dose Johnson & Johnson vaccine, a first dose of the Moderna or Pfizer vaccine, or if they have been granted a medical or religious exemption.

Those who have received a first dose have until October 15 to get their second shot.

Employees who have been granted exemptions must undergo weekly COVID-19 testing, as well as wear approved PPE and eyewear protection while working.

Officials say that as of this week, roughly 375 workers across the Novant network are non-compliant, meaning they cannot return to work. Those employees will be given an opportunity to comply over a five-day, unpaid suspension period. Their employment will be terminated if they remain non-compliant beyond that time. 

One Novant physician said earlier this month that hospitals are once again being stretched thin with the recent surge in cases, creating what he called a “health crisis.”