NEW YORK (1010 WINS) -- Dr. Dave Chokshi will stay on as the city's health commissioner into mid-March, Mayor-elect Eric Adams said Wednesday as he announced the doctor who will replace Chokshi.
Chokshi will serve as commissioner through March 15 before Dr. Ashwin Vasan, an epidemiologist and public health expert, takes up the role. Vasan will serve as senior adviser for public health in the interim.
Adams said the approach will ensure a "seamless transition" as the city combats a surge in COVID-19 cases and the rise of the omicron variant.
The city's positivity rate was up to 10.2% on Tuesday, and a recent report by the CDC found omicron now makes up about 92% of sequenced cases in the New York and New Jersey area.
"We are at a critical moment in our fight against COVID-19. The virus is a formidable opponent, and our city's response to it must be smart and strong," Adams said in a statement. "For the next three months as we get through this surge, Dr. Chokshi will continue the excellent work he is doing now to increase testing capacity, promote vaccinations and boosters, and stop the spread of this virus."
Chokshi has become one of the faces of the city's pandemic response, regularly appearing at Mayor Bill de Blasio's press briefings, as well as on television and radio PSAs urging New Yorkers to get tested and vaccinated.
