MIAMI (WSVN) - A Miami school that made headlines for saying it would
penalize teachers who got the COVID-19 vaccine is now requiring students who get vaccinated to remain home for 30 days after each dose.
Parents of students at the Centner Academy recently received a letter from its Chief Operating Officer that read in part, “…if you are considering the vaccine for your Centner Academy student(s), we ask that you hold off until the Summer when there will be time for the potential transmission or shedding onto others to decrease.”
The letter also spelled out a quarantine rule for parents who still choose to vaccinate their children.
“Because of the potential impact on other students and our school community, vaccinated students will need to stay at home for 30 days post-vaccination for each dose and booster they receive and may return to school after 30 days as long as the student is healthy and symptom-free.”
Centner Academy first made headlines in April when the school’s owners told their staff to hold off on getting vaccinated.
“We’re not telling teachers that they can’t get [the vaccine], we’re just simply asking that they hold off a little bit,” said Joshua Hills, a parent and Centner Academy employee, back in April.
The school owners said the reasoning was over concerns on side effects and fears that those who get the shot will infect those who don’t get it.
“What happens 30 days after they get vaccinated? What kind of nonsense is this?” said Dr. Aileen Marty, an infectious disease expert at Florida International University. “Where did they get that? There’s nothing in the recommendations to that… they made that up. That’s science fiction, not even science fiction because it’s pure fiction.”
According to the
Centers for Disease Control, none of the three vaccines authorized by the Food and Drug Administration use live viruses, meaning that they cannot make recipients sick with COVID-19.
“We’re not anti-vaxxers, we’re in favor of safe vaccines,” Hill said back in April. “Are these vaccines, is this injection 100% safe? As a parent of two children that go to this school, I’m not willing to take the chance on a question mark.”
Back in April, the Centner Academy said that employees who got the vaccine after April 22 would not be allowed to return to work at the academy. However, 7News was later told that teachers and employees who did decide to get vaccinated would not be fired, but they also wouldn’t be allowed to work with students.
Now, the letter sent out to parents says their concerns over what they call “experimental vaccines” haven’t changed. They also mentioned their concerns over health issues. They did say they respect everyone’s choice but also need to watch out for their entire school community.
However, health experts have said vaccines are the way to go and to listen to the science.
7News has reached out to one of the co-owners of the school. He said he cannot meet in person to discuss the letter, but released a statement reading, “Centner Academy’s top priorities are our students’ well-being and their sense of safety within our educational environment. We will continue to act in accordance with these priorities. The email that was sent to families today was grounded in these priorities.”
“I don’t find the letter interesting, I find it sad,” said Dr. Marty. “I find it terrible that there’s all this misleading information coming out of an institution that allegedly is an educational institution.”
Health experts argue vaccines are the way to go.
“The technology is not new. The technology is well established and it’s based on the best science we have,” said Dr. Marty.
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