The private school asked pupils who received a vaccine dose to stay home for 30 days, citing disproved ideas about the impact of inoculation
The letter from Centner Academy, 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,” WSVN reported.
“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,” the letter added, according to WSVN’s reporting.
The school had previously made unsubstantiated claims about adverse reactions non-vaccinated people could have by “interacting with people who have been vaccinated” that have not been identified in or supported by research by the Centers for Disease Control, Food and Drug Administration, National Institutes of Health or World Health Organization.
All four agencies, backed by extensive research, have confirmed that vaccines are the best method of defense against the spread of the coronavirus and severe illness and death from Covid-19.
“Centner Academy’s policy was enacted as a prudent precautionary measure after much thoughtful deliberation,” Centner Academy co-founder David Centner said in a statement provided to CNN. “To be clear, the school leadership does not believe that one who is vaccinated can infect another person with COVID. Further, the school is not opining on whether a vaccinated person can negatively impact others.”
“However, due to voluminous anecdotal reports in circulation on this latter topic, we must err on the side of caution when making decisions that may impact the health of the school community. Until there are definitive and scientifically proven studies that refute these reports, we need to do what is best for our students and staff,” Centner added.
CNN has reached out to Centner Academy requesting a copy of the email sent to families.
The Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine is approved for people ages 16 and older and has emergency use authorization (EUA) for children 12-15. Pfizer is seeking an EUA for a lower-dose vaccine for children 5 to 11.
The vaccines of two other US makers — Moderna and Johnson & Johnson/Janssen — are authorized for people 18 and older. The vaccines are being studied in younger ages.
Teachers warned in April
In April the Centner Academy asked its employees to wait until the end of the school year to get vaccinated, but still cautioned that if they did, they wouldn’t be allowed to return for the next academic year.
Centner claimed in the letter that “it will be years before we have reliable information regarding the short- and long-term effects of the Covid-19 vaccines.”
Extensive testing has shown the three vaccines are both safe and effective, according to federal regulators.
CNN’s Raja Razek and Scottie Andrew contributed to this report.
