Hundreds of people have staged a protest in North Carolina over Atrium Health's recent announcement that all employees must be fully vaccinated against COVID-19.

The demonstration saw people march from Freedom Park to the Atrium Health Carolinas Medical Center in Charlotte in protest against the decision.

Atrium Health, one of the biggest healthcare systems in Charlotte with more than 70,000 employees, recently announced that all staff members must be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 by October 31 in order to protect themselves and others amid surging cases of the Delta variant in the state and across the country.

Novant Health also said it would be requiring all its staff to be fully vaccinated against COVID by September 15.

Another Atrium Health employee at the protest, who wished to remain anonymous, said she is deciding not to get the vaccine just yet because she is pregnant and breastfeeding.

Atrium Health said requiring its employees to be vaccinated against COVID should not be viewed any differently than requiring staff to get annual flu shots, or ensure they are vaccinated for other infectious diseases, such as measles or chicken pox.

In a statement to local media regarding the planned protest, Atrium Health said: "Atrium Health has a long history of protecting the health of our patients, our teammates and the communities we serve.