Florida private school orders vaccinated students to quarantine for 30 days based on conspiracy theory

A private school in Miami, Florida, is ordering students who get vaccinated for COVID-19 to stay home for 30 days after each dose they receive.

“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,” said a letter sent last week to parents at Centner Academy in Miami said, according to WSVN.

The letter went on to say that parents should consider vaccinating their children in the summer “when there will be time for the potential transmission or shedding onto others to decrease.”

The school, Centner Academy, is apparently buying into a conspiracy theory that falsely claims vaccine recipients are “shedders” of COVID-19 because they’re injected with a live version of the virus.

“Vaccine shedding is the term used to describe the release or discharge of any of the vaccine components in or outside of the body. Vaccine shedding can only occur when a vaccine contains a weakened version of the virus,” the CDC’s website says. “None of the vaccines authorized for use in the U.S. contain a live virus.”

Speaking to The Washington Post, one of the school’s founders said that the order was a “precautionary measure” based on “numerous anecdotal cases that have been in circulation.”

“The school is not opining as to whether unexplained phenomena have a basis in fact, however we prefer to err on the side of caution when making decisions that impact the health of the school community,” David Centner told the Post.

As WSVN points out, the school has a history of spreading fear when it comes to vaccines. In April, the school told teachers to hold off on getting vaccinated for COVID.

“We’re not anti-vaxxers, we’re in favor of safe vaccines,” parent school employee told WSVN. “Are these vaccines, is this injection 100 percent safe? As a parent of two children that go to this school, I’m not willing to take the chance on a question mark.”

On its website, the school states that it values “freedom of choice and honor freedom of religion.”

“We are proud that our happiness school takes a comprehensive look at vaccine policies statewide, and we accept religious exemptions in-lieu of proof of vaccination,” the school’s vaccine policy states.

Sky Palma

Before launching DeadState back in 2012, Sky Palma has been blogging about politics, social issues and religion for over a decade. He lives in Los Angeles and also enjoys Brazilian jiu jitsu, chess, music and art.