A private school in Miami, Florida cited a bizarre conspiracy theory about COVID vaccines to penalized students for taking the shot.
Centner Academy is requiring that all students who get vaccinated against COVID-19 quarantine for 30 days after each dose because they believe there is a risk that vaccinated students would infect unvaccinated students through “shedding.”
In a letter, Centner Academy advised parents to hold off until the Summer when there will be time for the potential transmission or shedding onto others to decrease.”
“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,” school officials added, according to WSVN.
The school made headlines in April when they announced that vaccinated faculty members will not be allowed to interact with students.
Leila Centner, a co-founder of the school sent out a letter to staff informing them “with a very heavy heart” that if they chose to get a shot, they would have to stay away from students citing false claims linking the vaccine to changes in women’s reproductive cycles and even suggesting that a vaccinated person can alter the menstrual cycle of an unvaccinated woman by simply being around her.
One infectious disease expert told WSVN that belief is “science fiction.”
“What happens 30 days after they get vaccinated? What kind of nonsense is this?” said Dr. Aileen Marty from 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.”
Still, officials at the school are defending their decision, telling WSVN, “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 Food and Drug Administration, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the World Health Organization have all said that the coronavirus vaccines are safe and effective, after reviewing data from clinical trials.
According to the CDC, an individual may have some side effects after vaccination which may include fever, headache, chills, and tiredness, all these are “normal signs that your body is building protection.”
