Former state Health Commissioner Howard Zucker will appear before Congress next week to answer questions about the state’s disastrous response to the coronavirus pandemic.
Zucker will meet Monday for a closed-door transcribed interview with members of the House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic.
As former Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s health czar, Zucker was responsible for a March 2020 order forcing Empire State nursing homes to accept coronavirus-positive residents returning from hospitals.
Zucker also banned nursing homes from testing returning residents for the virus.
The virus was especially deadly for older people, with the order potentially causing 1,000 additional deaths in nursing homes, according to an analysis by The Empire Center, a conservative-leaning think tank.
Former New York Health Czar Howard Zucker to Face Congressional Questions Next Week Hans Pennink
“Howard Zucker had a role in crafting that policy for Governor Cuomo,” said Staten Island Republican Rep. Nicole Malliotakis, the only New Yorker on the committee. “We want to know what he knows in terms of what he brought to the [order] and why (when they had alternative options like the US Navy ship Comfort and South Beach Psychiatric Center on Staten Island) they continued to require these nursing homes to accept COVID patients.
“I would like to know what the difference was in reimbursements for people in hospitals and in nursing homes,” Malliotakis continued. “Did that financial decision play a role?”
Zucker faced no real consequences for the disastrous decision and in January was named deputy director for global health at the Centers for Disease Control by the Biden administration.
The coronavirus was particularly devastating for the elderly. AP Howard Zucker was responsible for the state order that sent covid patients to nursing homes Annie Wermiel/NY Post
“If Dr. Zucker finally wants to tell the truth about his involvement in this reckless mandate, then we welcome his appearance, but unfortunately he has never been transparent or honest in the past, so this may be a waste of time,” Janice Dean said. , Fox News meteorologist and advocate for COVID victims. “I pray that his conscience has taken hold of him and he is ready to tell the whole truth and nothing but the truth. Our families deserve it.”
Zucker declined to comment.
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Source: vtt.edu.vn