Florida Auditor General Confirms Department of Health’s Gross Mismanagement of COVID-19 Response and Data Management As First Reported by Whistleblower Rebekah Jones

Two years after former Department of Health employee Rebekah Jones told state officials she was asked to conceal and distort COVID-19 infection rates, the Florida Auditor General confirms that Department of Health (DOH) and other agencies provided “inaccurate or incomplete data,” lacked “effective access controls in the systems used to gather data,” and “impacted the State’s ability to accurately report COVID-19 data at the beginning of the pandemic.”

Jones was terminated in May of 2020 after refusing to manipulate COVID-19 data as requested by her supervisors. Jones was the architect and manager of the DOH COVID-19 Data and Surveillance Dashboard, the primary resource by which Floridians could access the most accurate and up to date information. Jones subsequently filed a claim for wrongful termination with the Florida Commission of Human Relations (FCHR), where her case is still pending. Jones was afforded legal whistleblower protections in May 2021, a designation she still holds.

Recent reporting on Jones’ case has distorted the status of her complaint based on a report issued by the Florida Department of Health Inspector General on May 25 (IG Report). This is not the state agency with jurisdiction over Jones’ claim. The agency with jurisdiction, (FCHR), has not yet rendered its decision

Original source can be found here