Pino, whose paid leave started as the omicron variant roared through the county, has been out of office for two months.
“We know Orange County’s definitely happy to have him back,” said Jeremy Redfern, spokesperson for the Florida Department of Health. “We’re happy to have him back.”
Pino, 58, who has led the Health Department in Orange County since May 2019, earns about $165,000 a year. He was placed on paid administrative leave Jan. 10, about a week after he sent a staff-wide email Jan. 4 revealing that fewer than 14% of the 568 employees in the office had been fully vaccinated with a complete series and booster shot.
Pino’s email Jan. 4 to employees bore a subject line of “Concerned for us and our families!”
He wrote: “I have a hard time understanding how can we be in public health and not practice it. I am sorry, but at this point, 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 [shots] and we are not even at 50%, pathetic.”
“There are going to be corrective actions that have to be met” by Pino, Redfern said. “It’s not an end-of-the-world thing for him.”
Asked if Pino had improperly accessed confidential health information of his staff, Redfern said, “As a supervisor, somebody shouldn’t be asking somebody to do something without a legitimate purpose. ... He’s being brought back and undergoing corrective actions because the department still has confidence in him.”
Pino confirmed he was reinstated Thursday and will return to the office Tuesday, but declined to comment further.
His return was announced this morning by Orange County Mayor Jerry Demings during a radio interview.
“Just yesterday, I had an opportunity to talk to him and he told me that he’s going to be returning to work at the Florida Department of Health in Orange County,” Demings said during a phone interview with Scott Anez, morning-drive host for WDBO, 107.3 FM and 580 AM. “I think that’s good news for him and I believe that gives him the opportunity to share with others that he was essentially vindicated without any serious wrongdoing.”
Demings has previously defended Pino as “our trusted partner and friend throughout the pandemic” while clashing with Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis over face-masking and vaccination mandates.
The mayor praised Pino during the radio interview.
“Dr. Pino is someone that we all came to respect. He gave sage advice throughout the pandemic to all of Central Florida and, in many ways, he gave advice across the state of Florida,” Demings said. “Some of what we did here was replicated in other jurisdictions across the country.”
He wished Pino well but added, “it remains to be seen just what his relationship with the state and the Florida Department of Health continues to be.”
Inquiries posed by email to state health officials nearly two months ago were funneled into a public records portal and have yet to be filled.
Pino had declined to discuss Health Department business while on paid leave.
Pino appeared at over 150 COVID-19 briefings, providing information in English and Spanish beside Demings.
Florida Department of Health officials had provided few details of the investigation, releasing this statement on Jan. 18:
“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,” spokesperson Weesam Khoury said at the time. “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.”
Source: Orlando Sentinel
shudak@orlandosentinel.com
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