Protesters in downtown Raleigh decry vaccines for healthcare workers, masks in schools

Healthcare workers rallied against mandatory vaccines in downtown Raleigh on Wednesday, insisting they will be fired for following their consciences.

Protesters gathered at the state legislature and also circled the Governor’s Mansion, carrying signs that read “My body, my choice” and “Forced vax=medical rape.”

The event drew roughly 100 people, many of them in medical scrubs.

But many in the crowd also came in opposition to masks in schools, which Wake County mandated Tuesday night.

“We spend so much time advocating for our patients, and now that I’m the patient, I can’t advocate for myself,” said Hannah Lewis, a nurse in Chapel Hill.

She declined to name her employer but said both Duke and UNC have said un-vaccinated staff will be let go on Sept. 21.

A handful at Wednesday’s event wore masks. Cars honked in support as they passed.

Speakers at the event’s microphone read from the Bible and claimed that vaccines were unnecessary for Christians. But their comments ranged far from the vaccine discussion.

One man in a sombrero, who called himself a former heroin addict and CVS employee, railed against big pharmaceutical companies and detoured into discussing what he called the Federal Reserve’s origins on a Satanic altar on Jekyll Island.

Lewis claimed that more of her patients objected to a vaccinated nurse than demanded one.

“I just don’t believe in the mandate,” she said. “The evidence just doesn’t suggest this is the treatment.”

Alan Wolf, spokesman for UNC Healthcare, confirmed that vaccines will be required for all staff as of Sept. 21. Employees can request medical or religious exemptions.