Following an address by Rick DeSantis, Florida Surgeon General Scott Rivkees delivered some comments for the first time in a few weeks. His comments were consistent with what medical and epidemiological experts have been saying: Floridians will be keeping their distance and wearing face masks for up to a year until a COVID-19 vaccine exists, calling the current precautions like avoiding crowds of 10 or more and wearing face masks in public “the new normal.” Apparently, that did not sit well with DeSantis, since his spokeswoman whisked Rivkees away before he could tell more truths:
Rivkees and two other state officials were made available to speak to reporters following DeSantis’ news conference, the first time in weeks that both Rivkees and Mary Mayhew, secretary for the Agency for Health Care Administration, were seen at a DeSantis news conference.
Immediately after Rivkees’ acknowledged that a vaccine could be months or more than a year away, [DeSantis spokeswoman Helen Aguirre] Ferré shifted attention away from Rivkees by asking reporters if they had questions for Mayhew.
When a reporter asked Mayhew a question, Ferré went up to Rivkees and the two quickly left the room. Ferré returned. Rivkees did not. His spokesman, Alberto Moscoso, said he left to attend a prescheduled meeting with DeSantis’ Deputy Chief of Staff, Adrian Lukis.
There’s cellphone video of the spokeswoman giving Rivkees the hook:
I fear for Floridians, especially retirees, who listen to DeSantis (and trump) try to demand that restoring economic stability is more important than ensuring that public health is protected. Prioritizing profits over people is what they do, public health be damned. Case in point:
