NEW YORK (WABC) — New York City Health Commissioner Dr. Ashwin Vasan submitted his resignation Monday morning and will leave office in January 2025.
Vasan cited personal reasons for his resignation rather than the ongoing investigations into the Adams administration.
Vasan has headed the Ministry of Health since March 2022.
“As anyone with a family — or a chosen family — knows, you are never alone in service,” Vasan said. “My wife and three young children have served alongside me, borne the brunt of my absence, and taken on so much. I am grateful for their love and have decided that now is the time to support them and their well-being. While this was a difficult decision, it was the right one for me and my family. I also look forward to continuing my clinical work and teaching while supporting initiatives to improve health, equity and access in this city and country.”
Vasan went on to say he believes the public health system is strong and that important initiatives are in place to benefit New Yorkers and ensure that everyone is safe and healthy for generations to come.
“When I was appointed New York City Health Commissioner in December 2021, the omicron variant of COVID-19 was already on the rise, infecting tens of thousands and claiming the lives of many New Yorkers. It was not clear what 2022 had in store for us, including an Mpox outbreak followed by New York’s first case of polio in a decade, all while COVID-19 continued to lurk and take hold in our city,” Vasan said. “At the Department of Health, we have faced these challenges – and so many others – even diseases many have never heard of, because that is the job of preventing health problems before they happen. We have accomplished so much in the last few years, from leading the city out of the pandemic and a time of crisis to ushering in a new era of public health.”
Vasan then thanked Mayor Eric Adams and the nearly 7,000 employees of the Department of Health.
Adams praised Vasan for his service and said he has been critical to the city’s response to COVID and Mpox.
“His expertise as a mental health expert, coupled with his training as a public health professional, have proven indispensable to our city over the past two and a half years as we grappled with rising COVID rates, Mpox outbreaks, and a mental health crisis on both our streets and in our schools,” said New York City Mayor Eric Adams. “But despite all of that, Dr. Vasan has helped implement new programs that will impact generations of New Yorkers – creating programs that free working-class New Yorkers from their medical debt, tackling the teen mental health crisis head-on, and aiming to increase the life expectancy of all New Yorkers. I applaud Dr. Vasan’s decision to stay in office until early next year as we transition to a new Commissioner, and we are confident that thanks to his hard work implementing important public health initiatives, New York City is and will remain a safer and healthier place for a long time to come. I hope all New Yorkers join me in thanking Dr. Vasan and his entire family for their services.”
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