Disinformation impact: Miami private school says teachers who get coronavirus vaccine aren’t welcome

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Tue, 2021-04-27 19:45 — mike kraft

Miami private school says teachers who get coronavirus vaccine aren’t welcome, citing debunked misinformation A letter from the founder of Miami's Centner Academy cited debunked misinformation about the vaccines’ impact on fertility and menstruation in women and girls, without offering any evidence or support to back up its claims. Katie Shepherd Washington Post

Last week, leaders at the Centner Academy, a Miami private school, sent teachers an email with a stark warning: Skip the coronavirus vaccines or else you’re not welcome in the classroom.

“We cannot allow recently vaccinated people to be near our students until more information is known,” the school’s co-founder Leila Centner said in a letter first reported on by the New York Times.

Centner cited debunked misinformation to justify the policy, suggesting that “reports have surfaced recently of non-vaccinated people being negatively impacted by interacting with people who have been vaccinated,” despite medical consensus that the coronavirus vaccines effectively prevent serious infections and carry few risks.

The school’s decision alarmed public health experts and demonstrated the pervasive reach of misinformation about the vaccines, which have now been given to at least 141 million people in the United States. A dozen state attorneys general last month demanded that Facebook and Twitter do more to enforce policies against vaccine misinformation.

In her letter to teachers last week and a second note sent to parents on Monday, the school’s co-founder alluded to misinformation about the vaccines’ impact on fertility and menstruation in women and girls and inaccurately suggested that vaccinated individuals “may be transmitting something” to unvaccinated people. Experts agree that vaccinated people cannot “shed” the vaccines and spread their effects to unvaccinated individuals.

None of the coronavirus vaccines approved for use in the United States have been linked to infertility, miscarriages or any other adverse impact on women’s reproductive health. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends pregnant women get a coronavirus vaccine, after observing “no safety concerns” among 35,000 women vaccinated during their third trimester. All of their babies were also healthy following the vaccinations, according to the CDC.

The source of the unsupported concern in the letter is unclear, but the school has numerous public links with the anti-vaccination community. ...

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