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Book in minutes at vaccassist.com. Sponsored by Pfizer. It's 5.05 and welcome in to a Tuesday edition of the Carolina Journal News Hour on Charlotte's FM News Talk 107.9 FM, WBT, I'm Nick Craig. Good morning to you.
Well, the North Carolina General Assembly's House Select Committee on Oversight and Reform invited officials from both Charlotte and Mecklenburg County to Raleigh on Monday to discuss crime and public safety in the state's largest city. The group of invitees included Charlotte Mayor Vi Lyles, the Charlotte City Manager in Marcus Jones, Mecklenburg County Sheriff Gary McFadden, the relatively new Charlotte Police Chief of Police, I should say, in Estella Patterson, and Spencer Merriweather, who is the district attorney representing North Carolina's 26th prosecutorial district, which includes the vast majority of Mecklenburg County. Representative Brendan Jones, the Republican from Columbus County, who is the chairman of the oversight committee, opened by referencing the murder of 23-year-old Ukrainian refugee Irina Zarutska. You're very familiar with that name. She was riding the Charlotte Lightrail back on August the 22nd of 2025 when she was seen on Cat's CCTV cameras being brutally attacked and then eventually murdered by DeCarlos Brown Jr.
These are some of the opening comments from Representative Jones, the chairman of the committee. Each of you called here today for one reason. incompetence. Incompetence in the law, incompetence in running jails, incompetence of handling crime. and most notably, in competence, in keeping the citizens of Mecklenburg County safe.
That is to be frank. Completely unacceptable. I'm not going to beat around the bush. This hearing is not going to be butterflies and roses. This body is going to get to the bottom of this crisis today.
no matter whose feathers get ruffled or what letters get sent. Normally, your activity or thereof, lack of, is something we could talk up as mismanagement. Incompetence. In August, Irina lost her life, brutally murdered on Charlotte's light rail. This young woman had fled war-torn Ukraine to come to America for a better life.
But she didn't get that experience.
So She didn't get to have her dream. Her life was cut short. Not by one individual. But by a system that allowed career criminals to roam your streets who had 14 arrests. A system that allowed its officials to go on reality TV shows rather than patrolling the streets.
A system that put pride festivals all while continuing to go off the fiscal cliff after a deficit after raising property taxes on its citizens. A system that prioritized DI initiatives over armed security guards on cats. Her blood is on your hands. I'm going to close this. The core function of government is not DEI, trans rights, the wearfare benefits for illegal aliens, or some new social justice program.
The core function is public order. Safety, security. And it's the act of doing everything in your power to ensure your citizens wake up every day to feel safe. You have failed in doing that. Today You're going to explain that to us.
That is the commentary. Each of you called here today for one reason. That is the commentary right off the start there from Representative Brendan Jones, the Republican from Columbus County, who spearheaded the work on the committee. First up, in terms of questions and comments from the committee, was the district attorney for North Carolina's 26th prosecutorial district. That was Spencer Merriweather.
And he started off by being asked a question about quality of life crimes that take place throughout Charlotte and Mecklenburg County. I don't think the members of our community want necessarily to wait on being able to meet the high burden of proof beyond a reasonable doubt before an officer makes an arrest on a case. It very well may be that, look, I need that person off my block. I know that you guys are still waiting to build reasonable doubt evidence, but we don't have it right now, but you do have probable cause to make that arrest. It's the reason why I've tried to make a distinction, and I know that our police executives have also tried to make a distinction between probable cause and between that reasonable doubt burden.
Officers have a job to do, prosecutors have a job to do, and we all have to do that on behalf of the public. In your opinion, is there something that the General Assembly could do to help you with this? I do believe that When someone is arrested for repeat offenses, you want to make sure you make them count. I think one of the deficiencies for a community like ours as we continue to grow. Is that a lot of the quality of life offenses, there's not a lot of Not a lot of teeth in a lot of those offenses.
You know, it very well may be that when someone you know, throws a rock through a window, uh, someone uh is seen tampering with a car, that maybe somebody sees that one incident as being minor. But by the time a resident in a community knows that that person uh is a is a cancer on that community, we ought to make sure that we've got the teeth to deal with it. Um The structure of a prosecutor's job entails discretion. And we do the best that we can to try to make sure that when we are using the teeth that the General Assembly gives us, that we're using it for people who are really a problem and for those that. aren't necessarily, we don't use those teeth.
But every time that we can have an opportunity to have a piece of legislation with more weight, with more teeth, it certainly helps us in exercising that discretion. The back-and-forth exchange between Meriwether and members on the committee, both Democrats and Republicans, was very cordial and even ended with a commentary from Representative Brendan Jones that he looks forward to continuing the conversation as the legislative short session begins coming up here over the next couple of months, inviting Meriwether back to the General Assembly to deal with what you just heard from the district attorney, some of those quality of life crimes, and adding some additional teeth to some of those penalties. Democrat Representative Carla Cunningham, who we will hear a lot from in the committee this morning, also commented and talked about something that is a rising issue not only in Charlotte and Mecklenburg County, but across the nation, youth violence. Here's the district attorney, Spencer Merriweather. The recidivism rate, as I understand it, for, and I don't have specific facts on this, but the recidivism rate for Uh for juvenile offenders.
Uh I believe is trending slightly down. But the seriousness that we are seeing for the people who are recommitting Is remains high. And I don't think there's a single person who works in the space of juvenile justice or works in our courts. that would tell you otherwise. Uh the the number of times that we are seeing people I'm not talking about under the age of 16, I'm talking about under the age of 14.
who are picking up a gun and doing harm. That quite frankly, we have to make sure that we are appealing to our judicial officials to understand. We know you want to treat this person like a kid. But please don't forget about these other kids. that they are entitled to a level of protection as well.
So, the rate down, but potentially the amount of violence or the level of violence in the crimes up, according to Spencer Merriweather, the district attorney for Mecklenburg County. One of the individuals who was very much looking forward to this hearing as he made in his opening comments, the Mecklenburg County Sheriff in Gary McFadden. And while I mentioned the conversation between Meriwether and lawmakers, both Democrats and Republicans, for all intents and purposes, was relatively cordial. It was not the case with the Mecklenburg County Sheriff. This was the opening between him and Representative Jones.
A formal petition was filed against you, alleging amongst many things, poor jail conditions, a terrible work culture, riddled with retaliation, racial slurge, and bias. the misuse of public resources and the severe allegation of extortion. I'd like to ask you a series of questions, and if your departments run properly, they should be really easy to go through. First question I'd like to ask: Did you ever order, approve, or have knowledge of own duties deputies transporting individuals to bars and strip clubs, yes or no? Thank you for having me here today, and I'm honored to be here and would love to answer questions coming from this body.
But I cannot answer certain questions to this petition. We all know that this petition was filed by a member of this committee, Representative Cunningham and others. that who once worked for My agency. Because of that petition being dismissed, And also because of that petition. is now under the investigation of the State Bureau of Investigation ordered by The district attorney's office.
Yeah. I must respect the process. And I must respect the order by District Attorney Spencer Merriweather, but I also have to respect the process. of the State Bureau of Investigation to give a fair process and I do respect that process.
So I cannot answer any questions that pertain to that petition at this time. Fair enough. Then let's uh hypothetically. Does pulling on duties deputies off the street to chauffeur individuals to bars and strip clubs? Would that make Mecklenburg safer?
Again. It's a hypothetical. It's not asking you directly anything with your agents. Hypothetically, as sheriff. Again, that is in the content of the.
Petition that I just stated that I cannot answer question to, even hypothetically. I'll let the record reflect that the gentleman refuses to answer. Let me state this, please. I did not refuse to answer your questions. I'm simply stating that this has become a legal matter.
a litigation matter. a State Bureau of Investigation matter, and I must respect the process. Having been a homicide detective for 22 years, and respecting the process. This could have been done before This happened. I would have been glad to come and answer questions and talk about what goes on in Mecklenburg County.
before the petition was filed. The petitions would file. It was dismissed. And as I said, the State Bureau of Investigation I'm giving them the respect and honor that they duly should have.
So let me make it clear for the record. I am not refusing to answer questions. I'm just simply telling you I am wanting to allow this process to be fair to the state of North Carolina, even to your committee chair. Miss Cunningham, but also fair to the State Bureau of Investigation and also. the district attorney.
So again, let me be clear. And blunt. I am not refusing to answer the questions. But you are unwilling to answer whether or not pulling deputies from the streets to drive guests to bars and strip clubs make Mecklenburg safer. And that exchange right off the bat between lawmakers and the Mecklenburg County Sheriff really set the tune for what would be nearly three hours of back and forth questioning.
We'll get into some additional commentary from the Mecklenburg County Sheriff coming up here in just a couple of minutes. Let's go! You're still grooving, still connecting, still loving, still turning up, still thriving. You still got it, but your immune system, it weakens as you age. That's where vaccines come in.
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It's 5:22. Welcome back to the Carolina Journal News Hour, Charlotte's FM News Talk, 107.9 FM. WBT continuing our coverage this morning of a nearly six-hour hearing that took place in the North Carolina General Assembly on Monday. The House Select Committee on Oversight and Reform invited officials from both Charlotte and Mecklenburg County to discuss crime and public safety in the state's largest city. We are now getting into some clips with the Mecklenburg County Sheriff in Gary McFadden.
McFadden's opening comments, he highlighted a petition. That had been filed against him by five individuals within the greater Mecklenburg County area, including Representative Carla Cunningham, a Democrat from Mecklenburg County, who sits in the North Carolina General Assembly, also sits on this committee that met in Raleigh on Monday, highlighting that he was not able to answer a litany of questions that were going to be asked to him by lawmakers due to an ongoing investigation. One of the main reasons for this hearing, of course, the brutal murder of Arena Zarutska back in late August of 2025, that murder forced state lawmakers to pass new legislation, one of those pieces of legislation called Arena's Law, House Bill 307. There was some discussion on that.
So Irene was always a mistake. Again, sir, you're taking it out of a context of listening to a debate when I was actually speaking to a gentleman seeking to be the next sheriff of Mecklenburg County, who was my chief deputy, who I believe honestly and seriously were undermining me while he was at the sheriff's office.
So let's be clear. Taking it out of content, did it do anything for me and my staff at the Mecklenburg County Sheriff's Office? No.
Well He's not here today. It's a great time to go on record. Do you think the bill's a mistake? Yes or no? Again.
Just a yes or no. Again, my statement is: I would love for you and others to open the door for me also to have that conversation. and have my input before a bill is addressed.
So now Again, that is my statement. Refusing to give an answer on whether he agrees with and supports some of the details behind House Bill 307. It is a widesweeping criminal justice reform bill and now officially state law that strengthens pretrial release requirements for violent offenders, ends large portions of cashless bail across the state of North Carolina, and creates new procedures for ordering mental health evaluations within the criminal justice system. McFadden unwilling to answer whether or not he thought that was good legislation and helped the people of Charlotte and Mecklenburg County. We'll now transition over to another lawmaker, Representative Mike Scheetzel, was asking about funding from both the federal and state sources, grant funding, more particularly, that could be stopped due to some of the policies within the Charlotte, within the Mecklenburg County Sheriff's Department.
Here was the back and forth between Representative Schietzel and the Mecklenburg County Sheriff. I also reviewed many grants that have been made available recently, both federal and state, but which we are not eligible for based on the MCSO policies that do not maintain compliance for certification related to, quote, interrogation of certain aliens, close quote, or, quote, notice of scheduled release, close quote. If you knew that your policies were preventing you from accessing potentially hundreds of thousands of dollars in grant funding for your office, would you have changed those policies? We followed the law. And we follow the policy.
Sheriff, let me interrupt you again because I am afraid you are not answering the question that I am asking, which is. Set aside the requirements of the law. Would you change the policies if you knew your policies were blocking you from receiving grant funding? If my policies did not follow the law, I would change that policy, but my policies have followed the law.
So your response, Sheriff, is that you will do only what you are legally required to do, but do no more to try to improve the office. Is that your response to my question? We've always tried to improve the office. We've always tried to prove the communication. We always try to prove the understanding as we see that that is a misunderstanding today.
So, Sheriff, your evasiveness on the question here suggests that maybe you are not willing to do everything you need to do to improve the office. Your unwillingness to answer my question beyond what the law requires suggests that maybe you are not willing to do everything that needs to be done in order to improve your office. One of the reasons that McFadden is at odds and has been at odds for quite some time with lawmakers is due to, in large part, his unwillingness to follow state law, at least from the eyes of the General Assembly, as it relates to ICE detainers. That is when an individual whose citizenship status is in question is arrested by law enforcement, not for necessarily an immigration crime, but local law enforcement for a variety of litany of different issues. The state lawmakers have now, two different times, passed legislation to try and force McFadden to follow the state law.
That came up as well. Sheriff Rose able to do his job correctly. He has a 65% ice pickup rate while you have a 16%. Explain why yours are so much lower than Sheriff Rode's right here with almost the exact same number of detainers issued. I can't speak for Sheriff Rode and his policies or how what he's doing.
Many sheriffs here in North Carolina do it differently. I do it by the law. Do you remember who authored the original Ice Bill in this General Assembly? No, I do not. That would be me and now Speaker Hall.
Thank you. We had conversations back then. We had 97 sheriffs doing their job, we had three that didn't. We've swung this around to where we've got 99 doing it and one not. I don't see anyone else here today.
Some folks questioning the contentious nature of the hearing. I think if you were to ask many lawmakers why it was so contentious, it would really roll down to the fact that they feel like the Mecklenburg County Sheriff continues to ignore legislation duly enacted by the North Carolina General Assembly, either due to a signature by the governor, which would include Arena's Law that we were just talking about, or some of this immigration legislation that we've seen out of the General Assembly in the last couple of years. We'll get to some additional questions asked of the Mecklenburg County Sheriff and continued deflections from the point at hand. We'll have those details coming up here in just a couple of minutes. You're still grooving, still connecting, still loving, still turning up, still thriving.
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Call 1-800-GRANGER, clickgranger.com, or just stop by. Granger for the ones who get it done. It's 5:36. Welcome back to a busy Tuesday edition of the Carolina Journal News Hour, Charlotte's FM News Talk 107.9 FM, WBT, as we continue our coverage this morning of what really can only be described as a contentious and fiery hearing in the North Carolina General Assembly on Monday, as local officials from Charlotte and Mecklenburg County were invited in front of the House Select Committee on oversight and reform dealing with public safety and crime across the city. We are playing and going through some of the back and forth between lawmakers and Mecklenburg County Sheriff Gary McFadden, who spent about three hours getting grilled by lawmakers refusing to answer the vast majority of those questions.
One of the controversial issues. Within the Mecklenburg County Detention Center is a music studio or a rap music studio that individuals that are either pre-trial or post-trial have the ability to use to express their creativity. According to city leaders, Representative Carla Cunningham, the Democrat from Mecklenburg County, once again was one of the individuals that filed a petition to remove McFadden from his office due to discussions and allegations of attempted extortion, corruption, willful misconduct, and maladministration. Pressed the sheriff on whether he thought it was appropriate for individuals that could be potentially charged with serious crimes like murder having the ability to go in and record rap music. The music studio inside of the jail.
We have a music studio and I guess they rapping or something in there. And the family member of some of the victims that were murdered were very upset about. that. Do you think that's appropriate to have a music studio f for people to rap in that are in jail for murder or other felonies?
So let me put the content into better content. Every single one of us in here listens to music. Every single one of us in here take music into our lives. That's part of rehabilitation. for us.
I have directly spoke with that family member. About that person being displayed as someone inside our detention center simply just making music. It is part of her rehabilitation. You can look at many studies and see that music helps us.
So we've taken this out of content of one particular thing. We should be talking about the mental health. That we incorporated inside a detention center. North Carolina first. Mental health institution inside of a detention center.
We don't talk about that. We talk about something that could bring a negative light. Yeah, that negative light surrounded the facts that an individual who was currently awaiting trial for murder was seen in a video that was published by Mecklenburg County officials showing and highlighting this music studio within the detention center. No indication from the sheriff's answers there that that is going anywhere anytime soon. One of the other issues facing the Mecklenburg County Sheriff is 21 deaths that have taken place within detention facilities in Mecklenburg County since he became the sheriff in 2018.
Representative Reese Pertle, who is the Republican from Rockingham County, questioned him about that and got a very bizarre answer as a response. People die in the United States every day. of prostate cancer. Heart attack. congested heart failure.
and several diseases. Sheriff, we're talking about a jail, a crowd-controlled environment where people are there for pretrial or post-trial. adjudication and sentence to the jail. I'm asking you, what have you done? Let me ask another question.
You can't talk about it. Let me ask another question. What have you done? to mitigate Policy. to ensure that the continued deaths in the jail doesn't occur.
I know the State requires a certain amount of wellness checks. What have you done beyond the required state? minimum to ensure that these deaths do not continue. Again, I would ask that this committee Respectfully understand that I'm not going to answer any questions Or go into any part of questioning as it pertains to this petition. A very weird diatribe there from the Mecklenburg County Sheriff.
People die all the time in the United States, even though 21 deaths in the Mecklenburg County Jail since 2018 is higher than both of the predecessors of McFadden combined in their terms in office. You heard a comment there from Representative Reese Purdle about checks that are required according to state law on inmates, on individuals that are being held either pre- or post-trial in detention centers across the state of North Carolina. Representative Charlie Miller, the Republican from Brunswick County, who was formerly the, or was the former deputy sheriff for the Brunswick County Sheriff's Office, talked a lot about how he had experience within the jails in southeastern North Carolina and honed in on how often those checks are going on for the wellness of individuals in the care of the Mecklenburg County Sheriff's Department. But sheriff state inspection reports found that in four of five deaths in twenty two. That you had officers that either falsified or failed to conduct required safety rounds.
Were you aware of that finding? And what actions did you take if you can Again? I'm going to refer You also to my previous statement. We are still getting into Litigation. lawsuits and an investigation.
Prior to this, we could have asked us any questions, and I would have been invited. If I was invited, we could talk about it. But simply trying to find another way to maneuver for me to talk about this petition. Is not going to be acceptable to me because we have the person, one person here, Representative Cunningham, is part of that petition. And as you can see, everything hangs on the words of Sheriff Mac Fadden, whether it's in the media.
whether it's on social media or anywhere else.
So I have to Understand that, that during this investigation and also the litigation proceedings. That I will be asked, as I am being asked today, of what I am said during a debate. or a hearing on anything else. I respectfully ask for that.
Okay, let's try it another way. What is the state requirement for inmate checks per hour? Juvenile or adult. Both? We're getting to the same thing.
I'm going to say it again. No, sir. No, sir. Okay. The state jail inspectors come.
They download your, I forget the name of the system that you do the checks with. How often Are you required by state code To Check on an inmate. It goes back in a leading question. That's a leading question into another question. If you want to be honest, just answer the question, sir.
I'm answering the question again. I'm asking the question again. Respectfully understanding the petition. And the lawsuit. I'm going to respect the process.
and not ask any questions pertaining to that. The correct answer to the question was: depending on the individuals, if there is somebody that could be potentially suicidal or have health or medical issues within the responsibility of the detention center anywhere across North Carolina, not just in Mecklenburg County, four checks an hour about every 15 minutes or so for other inmates that are not known to have any health issues. It is twice an hour. That is what the state law requires. The Mecklenburg County Sheriff seemingly indicated he could not discuss state law and state requirements during this hearing due to the recall petition that was, or the removal petition that was filed against him and the ongoing investigation taking place by the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigations.
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The CLC, or the Carolina Liberty Conference, brings together policymakers, scholars, community leaders, and citizens from across the state of North Carolina to explore the challenges and opportunities of advancing freedom in today's political and cultural climate. February the 27th and 28th at the Starview Hotel in Raleigh is where CLC 2026 is taking place. And this year, we will be celebrating the 250th anniversary of the American Revolution. We've got a great guest of speakers, including Lord Daniel Hannan, Chief Justice Paul Newby, State Auditor Dave Bullock, and more. Register and get your tickets today for the 2026 Carolina Liberty Conference.
Those details are available over at johnlocke.org. That's j-o-h-n-l-o-c-k-e.org. The 2026 Carolina Liberty Conference, February the 27th through 28th at the Starview Hotel in Raleigh. It's now 5:52. Welcome back to the Carolina Journal News Hour, Charlotte's FM News Talk, 107.9 FM, WBT.
As we continue our coverage this morning of a very interesting hearing in the North Carolina General Assembly yesterday, lawmakers and leaders from Charlotte. Being invited to testify in front of the North Carolina General Assembly's House Select Committee on Oversight and Reform. Both the Charlotte and Mecklenburg County officials, a large portion of the discussion revolved around crime and public safety. A lot of this sparked by the brutal murder of Irina Zarutska back in late August of 2025 when she was aboard the Charlotte's Light, the Charlotte's Light Rail, which is operated by Katz, the Charlotte Area Transportation System. Surveillance video released by Katz showed DeCarlos Brown Jr., a known criminal within the community, brutally stabbing Zarutska in the neck and killing her.
That story gained international news attention with pictures and unfortunately, pictures and videos of that horrific scene playing out all over the globe.
So we're hearing some back and forth between the Mecklenburg County Sheriff and Gary McFadden, who largely refused to answer questions from lawmakers due to the fact that there is an ongoing effort. SBI investigation into some allegations of attempted extortion, corruption, willful misconduct, and maladministration within his administration as the head of the Mecklenburg County Sheriff's Office. Recruiting has been a long-term issue, not only for law enforcement in Mecklenburg County, but generally across the country.
However, when the sheriff was pressed about some of those recruitment issues by lawmakers, he once again went into a weird diatribe about immigration and customs enforcement. If you look across the country, when I just left Washington, D.C., we all Are subject to lower recruitment because of what's happening in these large cities with ICE and immigration and all. It sends a negative sign.
So we are doing recruiting. But we need the help of the public also to encourage them to take on a unbelievable career in law enforcement. You went there, I didn't.
So what does ICE have to do with recruiting? It's negativity on law enforcement.
Well People are talking about coming to that's ICE is part of law enforcement.
So the negative confrontation. that has been created in our cities and counties across the nation with ours in Charlotte's web. It gives a bad taste of law enforcement. Simply the badge. it gives a bad indication.
So we're asking people to let's get back to talking good. about law enforcement as a reputable profession, but we don't. We don't. Just I'm chairs got to interject.
So you're saying this law enforcement's going out doing their job. Detaining illegals, bad criminals. Is a bad look for law enforcement? Killing people is bad look for law enforcement with someone without a gun. 21's died in your jail since you've been.
No, you asked about ICE. You asked about ICE. You asked about law enforcement. I didn't ask, I made a statement.
Well, I'm making a statement also.
So, here's what we're going to say. Two American citizens died, not immigrants. American citizens died. Not North Carolina. But still, it's an image.
It's the image that we have of law enforcement.
Well, recruitment issues have been a longtime issue for the Mecklenburg County Sheriff's Department and law enforcement in general, going all the way back to 2020.
However, the sheriff there claiming that it is due to the fact of immigration, customs enforcement, and some wide-sweeping operations they're conducting across the country. In rounding up this conversation, Representative Jones went through some of the details in the petition to remove McFadden from office. He didn't hold much back. One of your chief deputies said your department was, in quote, the most toxic and abusive he has worked at in all his years of law enforcement. And he and quote Has never seen an agency head conduct himself in such a classless and abusive manner.
The next chief deputy right after him described his tenure with you as, in, quote, the worst year of his entire career. Both use the word dictatorship to describe your office, with one even go as far as to say equivalent to a third world dictatorship. Both have accused you of retaliation and abuse. Both have said you've used your office for personal benefit. A third single senior official, Dr.
Rigsby, said Everything Kevin Canty put in his letter is absolutely correct. He runs that organization like a dictator. Sheriff. I ask you when three independent senior officials all describe the same toxic abusive environment. Are you telling us today that they're lying or is there a problem?
That is part of the petition, that is a part of the litigation. What I will say is, did you talk to anybody in the community besides that? No.
Did you talk to any of the staff that works there now? Under my leadership. No, we're talking. You don't know who I've talked to.
Okay. You have no idea.
Okay. You're making an assumption, correct? Yes, I am. Thank you. An honest question finally got answered.
Thank you. So that is really wrapping up the back and forth between lawmakers and the Mecklenburg County Sheriff, Gary McFadden. We've got continued coverage of this over on our website, CarolinaJournal.com. That's going to do it for a Tuesday edition of the Carolina Journal News Hour. WBT News is next, followed by Good Morning BT.
We're back with you tomorrow morning, 5 to 6, right here on Charlotte's FM News Talk, 107.9 WBT. You're still grooving, still connecting, still loving, still turning up, still thriving. You still got it, but your immune system, it weakens as you age. That's where vaccines come in. They help train and strengthen your immune response to fight off respiratory illnesses like flu, pneumococcal pneumonia, RSV, or COVID-19.
Ask your doctor or pharmacist which vaccines you need. Book in minutes at vaccassist.com. Sponsored by Pfizer. Mm-hmm.