The Orlando Sentinel reports:
Dr. Raul Pino, who became a trusted voice of the pandemic response in the nation’s tourist capital, has been placed on administrative leave from his post as the state’s chief health officer in Orange County as the Florida Department of Health conducts an investigation. Sources who spoke to the Orlando Sentinel on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss Pino’s status said he was placed on administrative leave after a Health Department employee complained about an email he sent Jan. 4 to agency staff about employee vaccination rates.
Orlando’s ABC News affiliate reports:
The Florida Department of Health released the following statement regarding Pino’s being placed on leave: “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. The Department is committed to upholding all laws, including the ban on vaccine mandates for government employees and will take appropriate action once additional information is known.”
Sources: State health officer Pino placed on administrative leave after vaccination email https://t.co/YBQPlPxnvc pic.twitter.com/uTxoWbbssd
— Orlando Sentinel (@orlandosentinel) January 18, 2022
.@wmfeorlando broke some news that will be on @NPR tonight. @HealthyFla confirms Dr. Raul Pino was put on administrative leave after encouraging his staff to get vaccinated and boosted https://t.co/JlxKao8ZVD
— 90.7 WMFE (@wmfeorlando) January 18, 2022