New York State Health Commissioner Dr. Howard Zucker is stepping down from his post, Governor Kathy Hochul announced Thursday.
Zucker had served in the post for 7 1/2 years, having been first appointed the job by disgraced ex-Governor Andrew Cuomo back in 2013. He had been in the public spotlight, for better and worse, throughout the duration of the COVID-19 pandemic as the state grappled with the deadly health crisis.
The commissioner had come under fire earlier this year when a damning report from state Attorney General Letitia James found that the Cuomo administration underreported nursing home deaths related to COVID-19.