Luis Ferré-Sadurni reports in the New York Times that New York State health commissioner Dr. Howard A. Zucker resigned Sept. 23. Gov. Kathy Hochul said that she agreed with his decision and that she would allow him to “stay on board” until she found a replacement. “I thank Dr. Zucker for his willingness to stay on board so we don’t have a gap in leadership until a person is identified,” Hochul said. “I think I made it very clear on my first day in office that I’d be looking to build a new team. There will be other changes forthcoming. But I do respect everyone who has been a public servant, I thank them for their service.” Zucker was criticized often for his handling of the COVID-19 pandemic, and his potential involvement in helping obscure the death toll of the coronavirus in nursing homes and withholding health data from the Legislature last year, which is under investigation. His resignation comes as the COVID-19 pandemic has returned with the stronger Delta variant leading to rising case counts and many deaths. Read more about this story in the New York Times.