Superintendent Truitt Statement on OSHA’s Emergency Temporary Standard for Vaccines

RALEIGH, NC (November 4, 2021) — Today, Superintendent Truitt released the following statement regarding the Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s (OSHA) Emergency Temporary Standard (ETS) for vaccines. The ETS requires all employers with 100 or more employees to mandate COVID-19 vaccines or weekly testing for employees. Public school districts with over 100 employees are covered by this OSHA ETS standard.

“As a breast cancer survivor and an asthmatic, I would continue to encourage North Carolinians to get their vaccination to fight COVID-19. I’ve repeatedly shared that we need students in the classroom learning in a face-to-face environment and the best way to maintain this is through vaccination.”

“However, the federal government’s decision to mandate vaccination is one of the clearest examples of government overreach and one of the purest attacks on personal choice. I’ve always maintained these decisions are best made by an individual, or parents, and in tandem with a trusted health care provider.

“North Carolina’s public school system is already facing severe hardship and staffing challenges as a result of the pandemic, and a mandate such as this only has the potential to exacerbate these concerns.

“In the coming days, our Department looks forward to working with the North Carolina Department of Labor and Commissioner Josh Dobson as he seeks to implement a plan that is right for North Carolina.”