Get vaccinated or be fired: Nearly all of Duke employees report receiving COVID-19 vaccine

Friday is the deadline for Duke University's 20,000 employees to comply with the university’s COVID-19 vaccine mandate -- or get fired.

It wasn't just Duke University that required employees to get the vaccine, the Duke University Health System also required its employees to be vaccinated. The deadline for Duke Health employees was last week.

Duke Regional Hospital President Katie Galbraith said Duke Health had to fire fewer than 20 out of its 22,000 employees. Galbraith said 94 percent of employees got vaccinated, while 6 percent got a medical or religious exemption.

"I have a strong Christian belief system, and my body, according to scripture, it a temple of the Holy Spirit, and I honor God with my body. I feel very strongly that God is telling me not to get this vaccine," said a nurse who asked not to be identified by WRAL News out of fear of retaliation.

"I'm very thankful they honored my religious exemption. I applied for it and heard back within 24 hours," the nurse said.

Duke University's numbers are similar, according to officials. A spokeswoman said 99 percent of its employees are in compliance with the vaccine mandate. Ninety-six percent of people received their shot, while 3 percent got a medical or religious exemption.

"I feel a little bit lucky that Duke did issue this mandate," said graduate student Erica Skerrett.

Skerrett said the mandate was a relief, and she said she hoped it encourages other employers to require it too.

"I think what they are showing with this really high vaccinate rate is mandates work," she said. "I hope that other employers do follow suit."

Michael Schoenfeld, Duke University's vice president for public affairs, said he hopes the success of the vaccine mandate will inspire other companies.

"This is an educational institution, and we believe in science," said Schoenfeld. "If we can be an inspiration, if we can be a model, if we can be on the leading edge of this to protect the health and safety of not just our workforce, our employees, but also the community, then we will absolutely take that."

"I think it's encouraging that this process for Duke, anyway, has gone rather smoothly," added Katie Abernathy, an employment lawyer in Chapel Hill.

Earlier this month, President Joe Biden instructed the Occupational Safety and Health Administration to require private employers with 100 or more workers to require the vaccine. The mandate will cover 80 million employees, or nearly two-thirds of the private-sector workforce.

Duke is the largest employer in Durham County and the third-largest employer in North Carolina, behind Walmart and Food Lion, according to the state Department of Commerce.

"Requiring vaccination, at least from a legal perspective, just isn't very new. I think that's something a lot of people don't appreciate," said Abernathy.

Abernathy said those employers, and smaller ones, can feel encouraged by how smoothly Duke's mandate went.

"Here in North Carolina, I would say any employer, of any size, they're absolutely on good legal footing to require vaccination in their workforce," said Abernathy.

The Duke Health nurse that received a religious exemption from getting the vaccine said she fears other employers will see Duke's high compliance rate from the vaccine mandate and will implement them too -- making it harder for those who are unvaccinated to find work.

The nurse added that she did not personally know anyone that quit at Duke Health because of the vaccine mandate.

Abernathy said that, so far, she wasn't aware of any legal challenges to Duke's vaccine requirement.

"Ultimately, that would be, at least at the court level, what sets the true precedent," she added.

So far, Schoenfeld said, Duke University hasn’t required employees to get a vaccine booster.

"We are making boosters available ... and we're following, of course, the state's guidelines," he said.