Farewell, Dr. Rivkees. Florida needs a true public health expert.
Dr. Scott Rivkees resigned.
Scott who? you ask. That’s the whole point. He was in charge of health, but his true skill was stealth.
As Florida’s chief public health officer, Rivkees held the dual titles of surgeon general and secretary of the Department of Health at a salary of $140,000 a year. But Floridians rarely saw him or heard from him. He spent two years on paid leave from his tenured position as professor of pediatrics at the University of Florida College of Medicine.
His last day is Sept. 20. Then his office will be empty. Will anyone notice? No.
Rivkees’ calling card was silence — a frustrating, maddening, irresponsible silence. The night janitor at the state Capitol had a higher profile.
From the outset, Rivkees, 65, was a controversial choice because he’s a pediatrician, not an epidemiologist or infectious disease expert. But Gov. Ron DeSantis selected him anyway — the last of his major state agency hires — then isolated him as the COVID-19 virus engulfed the state. When Floridians desperately needed reliable, science-based information to stay alive and healthy, Rivkees was largely invisible.
A mega-state battling a massive public health crisis has had no public advocate for the better part of two years.
A frightening wilderness
Rivkees should have been Florida’s version of Dr. Anthony Fauci. Instead, we were led into a frightening wilderness by an ambitious politician who rejects science, plays political games with human life and punishes officials who insist on masks as the death toll mounts and spreads to younger people.
As Rivkees heads for the exit, the doctor is now defendant Scott Rivkees. He’s accused of violating Florida’s public records laws by refusing to release daily COVID-related case numbers, deaths, hospitalizations and positivity rates.
State Rep. Carlos Guillermo Smith, D-Orlando, and the Florida Center for Government Accountability have performed a vital public service. They filed suit in circuit court in Tallahassee, asking that the information be released and that the Department of Health restore its daily dashboard reporting. DeSantis pulled the plug on daily reports, saying the information is eventually released by the Centers for Disease Control.
A critical component of any public health campaign is communicating in a clear, concise, consistent manner. People trust doctors. Floridians can handle the truth, and they need it now more than ever. Rivkees should have been out front, every day, nudging the governor in a more medically sound direction.
Rivkees’ departure means DeSantis has to find a replacement for one of the most important positions in state government. The next health secretary must be a public health expert with authority to speak directly to 22 million Floridians and millions more who visit the state every year. It’s a demanding and important job. But DeSantis has politicized public health to the point where it’s hard to imagine why a serious expert would want it.
A senator’s challenge
A few weeks ago, Democratic Sen. Gary Farmer of Lighthouse Point challenged Rivkees to counter the misinformation DeSantis was spreading to justify his statewide ban on mask mandates in a July 30 executive order.
Farmer said Rivkees had a moral and ethical obligation to set the record straight, especially because mask mandates are recommended by the American Association of Pediatrics, a group that includes Rivkees as a member. The doctor’s response was typical: Silence.
Rivkees’ brief but memorable moment in the spotlight was revealing in a way neither he nor DeSantis intended. At a public meeting in April 2020, Rivkees said people would have to wear masks and maintain social distancing until a vaccine was available, which could take a year or more.
The sudden burst of candor was a surprise. He was right, of course, but the message put him at odds with DeSantis. A spokeswoman for the governor immediately whispered in Rivkees’ ear and ushered him away from microphones and out of the Cabinet room in the Capitol.
Nearly a year-and-a-half later, Floridians are still wearing masks, DeSantis is still railing against mask mandates, and nobody knows who’s in charge of public health in the third-largest state. Crucial data is kept secret and masks are weaponized for political advantage.
This is no place for someone to hide in plain sight. Next time, DeSantis needs to get this job right.
The Sun Sentinel Editorial Board consists of Editorial Page Editor Steve Bousquet, Deputy Editorial Page Editor Dan Sweeney, and Editor-in-Chief Julie Anderson. Editorials are the opinion of the Board and written by one of its members or a designee. To contact us, email at letters@sun-sentinel.com.