Florida vindicated of accusation it was manipulating COVID-19 data

OPINION:

This week the Florida Department of Health’s Office of Inspector General determined that allegations a state employee was ordered to manipulate state COVID-19 data were “unfounded,” and “unsubstantiated” with “insufficient evidence.” 

The inspector general’s 27-page report focuses on claims made by former Florida Department of Health employee Rebekah Jones, whose two-year employment as a geographic information system analyst came to an end after her superiors determined she was making unauthorized public disclosures about the state’s handling of data entry on the COVID-19 dashboard she helped create. 

The finding vindicates Gov. Ron DeSantis who initially endured harsh criticism from the media when Ms. Jones’ so-called whistleblower claims first came to light. When she was initially terminated, the former DOH employee claimed she was fired for refusing to underreport COVID-19 data, and granted whistleblower status by the inspector general. 

But after a thorough investigation, the IG has revoked Ms. Jones’ protected status and described her as an employee who did not understand public health policy, epidemiological data or have significant access to critical information. She is currently facing a felony charge for allegedly illegally accessing and downloading confidential health department information. She also faces unrelated misdemeanor stalking charges related to an affair she had with a former student, which reportedly led to her dismissal at Florida State University. 

Despite these facts, Ms. Jones currently boasts a social media following of more than 400,000 on Twitter and is currently a Democratic congressional candidate running against Republican Rep. Matt Gaetz in Florida’s panhandle, where she relocated to challenge him. 

Ms. Jones’ attorney, Rick Johnson, who is representing her in a wrongful termination suit against the state, maintains his client is still a “whistleblower” and insists the new report only implicates state workers, and will not affect her rights to sue the state in court. “It’s simple: She was fired for refusing to manipulate Covid data,” Mr. Johnson said.

But it’s not that simple. To say that Ms. Jones’ claims were damaging would be an understatement. At a time when the entire nation was panicking over one of the most frightening public health crises in modern history, Ms. Jones claims were, in the words of David Bowie, “putting out the fire with gasoline.” Although the recent inspector general report did not cover the issue, Ms. Jones also made claims the state intentionally concealed deaths to create the appearance the pandemic was less dangerous. 

Some prominent Democrats agree and have even suggested the legacy of Ms. Jones’ claims may be that they help Republicans this fall. Jared Moscowitz, a Democratic congressional candidate in South Florida who was previously in charge of pandemic response as director of Florida’s Division of Emergency Management was so worried about Ms. Jones, that he communicated with her as a way to temper her negative social media. 

“She had a dedicated following, and whether it was fact or fiction, they treated everything she said as if it were in the Old Testament,” Mr. Moskowitz recently told POLITICO. He said Ms. Jones’ social media followers made even more “outlandish” accusations, going as far as to say that Florida officials were hiding the bodies of dead COVID-19 patients. 

“There was no doubt this was an effort to harm the governor,” he told POLITICO. “But what they’ve done is the opposite: give him a national platform and attention that made him a political juggernaut in his party.”

Regardless of the political damage Ms. Jones’ claims may have caused to either political party, one thing is for certain: If the inspector general’s report is to be taken seriously, Ms. Jones’ “unfounded” assertions undoubtedly amplified fears among Florida residents by creating a false sense they were in graver danger than they actually were. It also stands to reason her “unsubstantiated” allegations created apprehension for tourists, whom Florida’s economy is highly reliant upon. 

Sadly, there’s no way for the state’s business community to possibly measure those damages or ever recover them — a fact that Florida voters should take into consideration when they head to the polls later this fall.