New York State Health Commissioner Dr. Howard Zucker speaks at a press conference announcing that the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center opens today as a state-run COVID-19 vaccination site, New York, NY, January 13, 2021. Once used as a Coronavirus field treatment hospital back in March 2020 during the first wave of COVID-19 infections, the Jacob Javits center will now be used to further accelerate the vaccine distribution in New York City; New York State is currently in phase 1B, with vaccination priority for health care workers, people aged 65 years old and over, first responders, educators and essential workers. (Photo by Anthony Behar/Sipa USA)
NY: COVID-19 Vaccination Site Opens At Javits Center
NEW YORK (77WABC) New York state Department of Health Commissioner Dr. Howard Zucker has submitted his resignation, Gov. Kathy Hochul announced in a press briefing Thursday.
“I’ve wanted to take the first 45 days to assemble a new team going forward,” Hochul said in the briefing. “That process is ongoing, and he understands and respects that.”
In New York City holding a COVID briefing. Watch live: https://t.co/qSpXYmLe7v
— Governor Kathy Hochul (@GovKathyHochul) September 23, 2021
Hochul added that Zucker will stay on board until a replacement is made to assist in the transition amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, which he has helped lead the state through for the last year and a half. It’s not clear who might be appointed to the spot.
The Governor said she agreed with his decision to step down, thanked him for his years of service and said Zucker was moving on to other ventures.
Zucker joined the state Department of Health in September 2013 and was appointed commissioner by former Gov. Andrew Cuomo two years later. The health chief found himself involved in Cuomo’s downfall, after New York Attorney General Letitia James released a report saying the state may have undercounted COVID-19 deaths among nursing home residents — blaming both Cuomo and Zucker for the undercount.
