Less than 1% of employees at a Tennessee-based hospital system have left their jobs after a vaccine requirement was enacted.

CHI Memorial in Chattanooga has about 4,600 employees and 600 affiliated doctors in southeast Tennessee, Georgia and Alabama.

CHI Memorial is the only hospital in Chattanooga to implement a COVID-19 vaccine requirement, The Times Free Press reported. The hospital announced in August that all workers must be fully vaccinated by Nov. 1 in order to keep their jobs.
Company officials said with the deadline approaching, less than 1% have resigned so far as a result of the health system’s COVID-19 vaccine requirement.

The requirement applies to all physicians, advanced practice providers, volunteers and others caring for patients. Exemptions are allowed for medical reasons or those with sincerely held religious beliefs. CHI spokeswoman Karen Long said 83% of the religious and medical exemptions submitted have been approved. She did not say how many employees filed for those exemptions.