Mecklenburg County releases employee COVID vaccine data. Here’s what we know

Nearly 70% of Mecklenburg County full-time employees and 66% of all employees are vaccinated, county officials said Wednesday.

And 84.7% of all Mecklenburg County Public Health employees are vaccinated, according to county data.

Those rates outpace the rate of vaccinations for Mecklenburg County residents as a whole — just 53% are fully vaccinated — and the city employee vaccination rate of 62%.

All Mecklenburg County Public Health employees were required to show proof of vaccination by Sept. 7. Officials had announced that mandate in late July, aligning with similar vaccine requirements from Atrium Health and Novant Health.

Less than 25 health department employees had sought religious or medical exemption as of last week, county spokeswoman Pam Escobar told the Observer last Thursday. Those exemptions were under review, she said.

No health department employee had refused the vaccine as of Sept. 2, Escobar said. The county did not immediately provide an update on those numbers Wednesday.

But as Sept. 8, about 15.3% of the health department’s 792 employees, including full-time and part-time workers, were either unvaccinated or did not report their vaccination status.

Health department employees who have not complied with vaccine verification process or received a vaccine exemption will now go through the county’s disciplinary process, although Mecklenburg officials have not explained what that entails.

Beyond the county health department, COVID-19 vaccinations are not required for other Mecklenburg government workers. But unvaccinated employees will now need to start presenting weekly proof of a negative COVID-19 test.

Weekly COVID testing is “ongoing until further notice,” Escobar said. The cost is covered by insurance, she said.

Mecklenburg County vaccination breakdown

The County Assessor’s Office and the Mecklenburg County Sheriff’s Office have the lowest vaccination rates among full-time employees.

Just 54.2% of 107 full-time employees in the County Assessor’s Office and and 54.5% of 1,027 full-time sheriff’s office employees are vaccinated, according to the county.

The Historic Landmarks Commission and the County Manager’s Office had the highest rate of vaccination among full-time employees out of the county agencies.

All three full-time employees in the Historic Landmarks Commission are vaccinated and 88.5% of 52 full-time employees in the County Manager’s Office are vaccinated.

In total, 3,600 full-time Mecklenburg County employees out of 5,174 across 24 agencies are vaccinated.

A large number of part-time employees were either unvaccinated, did not disclose their vaccination status or did not respond to the survey.

Just 39.4% of 720 part-time county employees are confirmed to be vaccinated, according to the county.

Some 98 part-time elections employees out of 102 total were unvaccinated or unknown, and 267 part-time Park and Recreation employees out of 408 were unvaccinated or unknown.

City vaccination rates

The new vaccination rate data from Mecklenburg County comes about a week after Charlotte officials disclosed that just 62% of city government workers were vaccinated.

That’s based on a workforce survey that had a 95% response rate. But vaccination rates vary widely across city departments, with first responders trailing behind their office-based colleagues.

The Charlotte Fire Department, with 1,224 employees, posted the lowest vaccination rate of 49%. The Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department, with 2,407 employees, had a 63% vaccination rate.

Last week, three organizations representing Charlotte police and firefighters sent a letter to city leaders opposing the possibility of a COVID-19 vaccine mandate for city employees, the Observer reported.

Meanwhile, some administrative-based city departments that have little to no interaction with the public — including the city manager’s office — had a 100% vaccination rate.

Charlotte is offering $250 rewards to employees who get vaccinated by the end of the month. If the city workforce hits a 75% vaccination rate, vaccinated employees could get another $250.

Mecklenburg County Manager Dena Diorio has decided against using similar incentives for now, Public Health Director Gibbie Harris said during a news conference Friday afternoon. The workforce vaccination rate will be closely watched throughout September.

“The question is whether it’s really necessary to do that or not,” Harris said, “or whether staff are going to step up and get vaccinated on their own.”

Vaccination rates

Here is the full list of vaccination rates by county department based on full-time and part-time employees:

▪ Asset and Facility Management (39 employees): 87.2%

▪ County Attorney’s Office (10 employees): 80%

▪ Office of Internal Audit (15 employees): 80%

▪ County Assessor’s Office (107 employees): 54.2%

▪ Criminal Justice Services (63 employees): 87.3%

▪ Community Support Services (153 employees): 77.8%

▪ Department of Community Resources (170 employees): 68.2%

▪ Department of Social Services (1,142 employees): 66.7%

▪ Office of Economic Development (8 employees): 87.5%

▪ Board of Elections (128 employees): 18%

▪ County Finance Department (119 employees): 74.8%

▪ Historic Landmarks Commission (3 employees): 100%

▪ Public Health (792 employees): 84.7%

▪ Human Resources Department (48 employees): 83.3%

▪ Information Technology Services (168 employees): 77.4%

▪ Charlotte Mecklenburg Library (428 employees): 81.5%

▪ Land Use and Environmental Services Department (491 employees): 68.6%

▪ Office of the Medical Examiner (21 employees): 81%

▪ County Manager’s Office (57 employees): 84.2%

▪ Public Information Department (21 employees): 76.2%

▪ Park and Recreation Department (788 employees): 46.6%

▪ Register of Deeds (39 employees): 59%

▪ Mecklenburg County Sheriff’s Office (1,041 employees): 54.9%

▪ Office of the Tax Collector (43 employees): 67.4%

This story was originally published September 8, 2021 at 12:22 PM.