Miami school reverses, won’t force vaccinated students to stay at home for 30 days

A Miami private school that previously announced it would require students recently vaccinated against the coronavirus to quarantine at home for 30 days has reversed its decision.

The Florida Department of Education threatened the school with repercussions over the requirement, which was based on false claims that vaccines could transmit the virus or other side effects.

“We conclude our response by confirming that Centner Academy is not requesting any student to quarantine at home due to vaccination status,” Bianca Erickson, the school’s chief operating officer, said in a letter to the Department of Education on Friday.

Erickson’s letter was in response to a note from Jacob Oliva, senior chancellor of the department, who wrote on Thursday that it had come to his attention that the school would “require parents of recently vaccinated students to quarantine their children for an unreasonable, unnecessary and unduly burdensome amount of time.”

“Should our investigation reveal that your schools’ policies fail to comport with these lawful rights and obligations, understand that the action that follows — up to and including revocation of your schools’ scholarship eligibility and funding — will be both swift and decisive,” Oliva’s letter continued.  

The following day, the Centner Academy responded, saying that the school “believed we were acting in compliance with the Department of Education’s Emergency Rule No. 6AER21-01, which allows a student to be considered in attendance at school when under a ‘stay-home’ directive related to COVID-19.”

The school’s letter to the department went on to confirm that “the plan as announced was not implemented prior to receipt of your letter and we will not pursue any such measures.”

“Our decision not to enact the 30-day at-home quarantine was an easy one as no parents expressed interest in getting the COVID vaccine,” David Centner, one of the school’s founders, wrote of the decision in an email to The Hill. 

“In addition to the full support of families from our school, we have been overwhelmed with outreach and requests from parents across the country who want to protect their children. Sadly, the media is not sharing any of the known side effects that have been clearly documented in the VAERS U.S. Government database,” Centner’s statement added. 

The original quarantine requirement falsely stated that vaccinated children could contribute to spreading the virus or “shedding” onto others. These concepts are vaccine myths that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has debunked. 

“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.” 

The same school was the subject of coronavirus-related controversy in April when it asked teachers to hold off on getting their shots. 

Updated on Tuesday at 9:16 a.m.