Getty/Ari Perilstein
- SoulCycle instructor Stacey Griffith has apologized for getting the COVID-19 vaccine.
- Griffith received backlash for getting vaccinated after deeming herself an “educator.”
- SoulCycle reportedly sent a memo to instructors saying they “do not qualify as educators.”
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Celebrity-loved SoulCycle instructor Stacey Griffith has apologized for getting a COVID-19 vaccine on the basis of classing herself an “educator.”
In now-deleted Instagram posts seen by Business Insider’s Allana Akhtar, Griffith documented her vaccination for her 64,300 followers, saying that she drove an hour to Staten Island for it on January 29.
As Akhtar reported, fitness instructors are not currently eligible for the vaccine in New York State, and Griffith received a backlash when many others in eligible groups are struggling to get vaccinated.
In January, New York authorities warned that it had a “very limited” COVID-19 vaccine supply, as Business Insider’s Natasha Dailey reported.
Griffith has now apologized, writing on Instagram: “I want to apologize from the bottom of my heart for my recent action in receiving the vaccine. I made a terrible error in judgment and for that I am truly sorry.”
Griffith, who reportedly makes a minimum of $800 per class and has celebrity fans including Kelly Ripa and Neil Patrick Harris, told The Daily Beast on January 29 that her being vaccinated "can stop the short spread within groups."
She continued: "I function as a common point for many overlapping people. In my profession of health and wellness as a teacher, it's my priority daily to keep my community and their respiratory systems operating at full capacity so they can beat this virus if they are infected by it. I can only teach to them if I am healthy myself."
Griffith added that "all teachers are eligible to apply for the vaccine," and she had applied online.
However, a memo reportedly from SoulCycle's CEO and seen by Vox said: "SoulCycle instructors do not qualify as educators to receive the vaccine based solely on their roles at SoulCycle and should not be attempting to receive the vaccine unless they are otherwise eligible to do so, based on appropriate state regulations."
New York City mayor Bill De Blasio said in a press conference on Sunday that he does not think Griffith should have got the vaccine: "Doesn't sound like someone who should've gotten vaccinated to me. I don't think someone who shows up and says, 'Hey, I'm a SoulCycle instructor,' should have qualified unless there's some other factor there. That should have been caught in the application process."
SoulCycle and Griffith did not immediately respond to Insider's requests for additional comment.