Saturday, September 25, 2021

25 September 2021: Editorial - Zucker Owes Explanation to Grieving Families

Editorial: Zucker owes grieving families an explanation

This editorial from HudsonValley360 explains why the disgraced, retiring New York Health Commissioner Howard Zucker has a lot of explaining to do:

State Health Commissioner Dr. Howard Zucker's blind loyalty to former Gov. Andrew Cuomo undermined his tenure as much as allegations of sexual misconduct did to Cuomo's reputation and political career....

Under direct questioning from state lawmakers last August, Zucker refused to provide an updated count of the number of coronavirus-positive nursing home patients who died in New York hospitals and circumvented other inquiries about the state's handling of COVID-19 in congregate facilities.

Zucker's eagerness to avoid direct answers helped cement the Cuomo administration's reputation as a governmentthat made big noises about transparency and failed to demonstrate it. His lack of empathy toward the families of nursing home residents who died of COVID was a shameless bureaucratic exhibition.

Hochul clearly planned to clean house and replace Cuomo's legions with her own staffmembers, so Zucker's resgnation may look to some as an anticlimax. As he departs, though, Zucker needs to give those still-grieving families closure by coming clean and speaking the truth about what happened last summer.

Indeed. Zucker has much to answer for. Here are examples of what he needs to account for from the timeline:

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