The volunteer Civil Service Board, which has authority over employee grievances, agreed with the city’s argument Feb. 22 that five workers had shown insubordination by refusing COVID-19 vaccination or weekly testing in October. Asheville has since suspended its “test-or-vaccinate” policy effective March 2.
Many Western North Carolina residents who spoke with Xpress say they shared their negative responses after COVID-19 vaccination with health providers. But they also say their concerns have been minimized or ignored, driving a lack of trust about the vaccines and the broader medical establishment.
Xpress has identified at least seven local K-12 institutions that are not requiring all students to wear masks as recommended by the N.C. Department of Health and Human Services StrongSchoolsNC toolkit and county public health leaders. Some have rejected other coronavirus measures as well, including isolating individuals with COVID-19 and recommending vaccinations.
Xpress reached out to learn about the concerns of health care workers who are choosing to avoid or delay taking the COVID-19 vaccine, as well as the thoughts of those who enthusiastically or reluctantly received the shots.
Some local doctors and alternative health practitioners have turned to hundreds of small-scale and observational studies suggesting that cheap, over-the-counter supplements such as vitamin D and zinc might strike a significant blow in the struggle against COVID-19.
