Cindy Krischer Goodman

As the number of people hospitalized for COVID-19 in Florida rose to an all-time high on Wednesday, the state’s hospital systems started making plans to suspend elective procedures.

Although you didn’t have to pay anything for the shots, the fees paid by insurance companies and the federal government put as much as $150 million in the pockets of Florida pharmacies, grocery stores and private medical practices.

Broward Health, one of the county’s largest health systems, has chosen Shane Strum, Gov. Ron DeSantis’ chief of staff, to become its new CEO.

New questions are being raised about an unexplained gap in death reporting in the days leading up to Election Day on Nov. 3. The pause in reporting long-backlogged deaths resulted in fewer COVID-19 deaths being reported in daily counts as Floridians headed to the polls.

The administration suppressed unfavorable facts, dispensed dangerous misinformation, dismissed public health professionals, and promoted the views of scientific dissenters who supported the governor’s approach to the disease.

Alberto Moscoso, the chief public information officer for the Florida Department of Health throughout the pandemic, bowed out Nov. 6 amid a reshuffling of personnel at the state agency. He would not elaborate on why he left, or where he was going.