CMS employees will soon be required to get Covid-19 vaccinations or agree to frequent testing.

At yesterday’s school board meeting, district officials laid out a timeline for the new requirements, which will start with staffs at elementary schools later this month.

The rolling implementation is expected to reach high school staffs the week of Oct. 25.

No school board vote was taken to implement the new measures, which were deemed an operational decision.

During a public hearing, a few people spoke out against the requirement. Charlotte Observer.

Also yesterday, a Novant Health official expressed concern about the rate of Covid-19 infections among pediatric patients across the country.

During a virtual meeting with reporters, Dr. L. Eugene Daugherty, who directs Novant’s Hemby Children’s Hospital, said more than 25% of Covid-19 cases nationwide involve pediatric patients.

Many of those patients, he said, are under the age of 12 and cannot be vaccinated.

Dr. David Priest, Novant’s chief safety, quality and epidemiology officer, encouraged schools to continue following safety precautions, especially while some hospitals are nearing their capacity levels.

“From my standpoint, I would encourage all school systems to mask, make sure they are following kids who are sick, make sure those kids stay home, do contact tracing, and do a lot of things we know work,” Priest said.