MECKLENBURG COUNTY, N.C. -- More than 1,100 people received Hepatitis A vaccinations Wednesday following a possible public outbreak.

• There was a possible Hepatitis A outbreak at a Charlotte Hardee's
• Nearly 4,000 customers who ate at the restaurant could have been exposed
• Clinics are offering vaccinations 

Mecklenburg County health officials say a Hardee’s employee with the virus may have exposed nearly 4,000 customers who ate at the restaurant on Little Rock Road from June 13 to 23.

“We don’t have exact time frames for when this individual handled food. They don’t always handle food every day they're in the facility, so it’s hard for us to project someone could be infected or not,” said Mecklenburg County Health Director Gibbie Harris.

Harris said the Hepatitis A vaccine usually requires two doses so those thousands of customers may have to come back in six months for another dose.     

“The first dose has at least 90 percent if not great efficacy so if folks don't get back for the second doses so we're trying to make sure that they've got the best possible immunity based on this one dose,” said Harris.

The Hardee's is also close to the airport and not far from Interstate-85 so it’s possible some of the people exposed to the virus don't live here. Harris said the department is relying on regional and national health systems to spread the word about the possible outbreak.

The restaurant chain responded with a statement on the issue.

We can confirm that an employee at a franchise-owned Hardee’s restaurant at 2604 Little Rock Road in Charlotte, North Carolina was recently diagnosed with Hepatitis A. Once CKE became aware, we immediately followed up with Mecklenburg County Public Health, which conducted an inspection on Monday, June 25. Although the health department determined a mandatory closure was unnecessary, out of an abundance of caution for our employees, guests and community, we supported the franchise owner’s voluntarily closure of the restaurant on the afternoon of Tuesday, June 26.

The franchise owner is working closely with the health department and is following all recommendations to ensure the health of our employees and customers. Based on guidance from the health department, we urge any guests who visited our Hardee’s restaurant at 2604 Little Rock Road between June 13 – 26 to get vaccinated. More information can be found at www.meckhealth.org.

"There's a statewide system, the help alert network, and that info has gone to every county in the state about this so if people were traveling through, those county health departments will help us get the word out there,” said Harris.

This Sunday, Harris said they'll take a look at how many people have been vaccinated and determine whether these efforts will continue into next week.

If you still need a Hepatitis A vaccine, here’s the clinic schedule:

• Thursday, June 28 from 8 a.m. – 5 p.m., at Northwest Health Department, 2845 Beatties Ford Rd. and Southeast Health Department, 249 Billingsley Rd., Charlotte.
• Friday, June 29 from 3 p.m. – 8 p.m. at the Hal Marshall Building, 700 N. Tryon St., Charlotte.
• Saturday, June 30 and Sunday, July 1 from 10 a.m. – 3 p.m. at the Hal Marshall Building, 700 N. Tryon St, Charlotte.