Raul Pino, MD, has been an important figure in Orlando’s COVID-19 response, often appearing in news briefings with Orange County’s mayor.
In an email sent to staff Jan. 4, Dr. Pino wrote, “I am sorry but in the absence of reasonable and real reasons it is irresponsible not to be vaccinated. We have been at this for two years, we were the first to give vaccines to the masses, we have done more than 300,000 and we are not even at 50 percent, pathetic. I have a hard time understanding how we can be in public health and not practice it.”
Of 568 staff members in the department, only 219 have received two shots of the COVID-19 vaccine and only 77 have received booster shots.
A screenshot of the email suggests Dr. Pino may have accessed potentially confidential worker health records to find those statistics, The Post reported.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signed an order prohibiting employers from mandating the vaccine and said Jan.13 that despite the Supreme Court upholding the CMS mandate, Florida will not follow suit.
Weesam Khoury, spokesperson for the Florida Department of Health, told The Post Dr. Pino has been placed on leave but did not specify for how long the leave will last or what led to the decision.
“As the decision to get vaccinated is a personal medical choice that should be made free from coercion and mandates from employers, the employee in question has been placed on administrative leave, and the Florida Department of Health is conducting an inquiry to determine if any laws were broken in this case,” Ms. Khoury said.
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