Where Are They Now · Profile 17

Howard Zucker

Howard Zucker
Photo: LBJ Presidential Library (public domain)

Howard A. Zucker, MD, JD (former NYS Commissioner of Health). Not Jeff Zucker of CNN, who is a separate person in the film at 00:25:34.

Claims are labeled Documented, Allegation or Open question. An allegation or open question is not a finding of wrongdoing. The film's line that he played a "key role in hiding the actual death toll" is the film's characterization. The undercount itself is documented (see below).

Who he was in the COVID era

  • New York State Commissioner of Health (2015–2021) under Gov. Andrew Cuomo. Documented
  • Last author on the JAMA HCQ study (Rosenberg et al., May 11, 2020), as the film says (Ohlers, 00:16:12). Documented Source: JAMA 2020;323(24):2493
  • The Mar 25, 2020 nursing-home advisory: nursing homes were directed to accept medically stable COVID-positive residents returning from hospitals. Documented Sources: CNBC, Feb 19, 2021 (Zucker defends it); House Select Subcommittee staff memo, Sep 9, 2024
  • The undercount: NY Attorney General Letitia James's report (Jan 28, 2021) found nursing-home deaths were undercounted by about 50%, because residents who died after hospital transfer were left out. The state then published 12,743 resident deaths, 3,829 of them in hospitals. Zucker's statement disputed the word "undercount." Documented Sources: AP; Zucker statement
  • The July 2020 DOH report: the House Select Subcommittee found it was not independently authored or peer reviewed, that Cuomo's office edited it, and that it excluded out-of-facility deaths. Zucker gave a transcribed interview. Documented (congressional findings) Sources: Select Subcommittee memo; Zucker interview transcript
  • Resigned Sep 23, 2021, a month after Cuomo resigned. Documented Source: NYSDOH resignation letter
  • Hiring of Rosenberg: the film says his department hired his JAMA co-author Eli Rosenberg. Rosenberg joined NYSDOH in Jul 2021 as Deputy Director for Science. Documented (Note that Zucker was still commissioner then.) Source: Capitol Pressroom, Jul 20, 2021

In the film: clips and timecodes

  • 00:16:12–00:16:15 — Ohlers: highest-ranking author of the Rosenberg JAMA study (Ohlers)
  • 00:16:19–00:17:03 — Narration: nursing-home return policy; hidden death toll; mandates; resigned; hired Rosenberg; "top dog at the CDC" (Narration)
  • Full timecodes are in the annotated transcript.

How COVID-era money shows up in the record

  • No personal COVID-era money was found in the records reviewed.

Consequences

  • No charges or discipline against Zucker. The Select Subcommittee referred Cuomo, not Zucker, to DOJ for prosecution, over his testimony. Documented Source: House Oversight release
  • Federal hire despite the controversy: the CDC named him Deputy Director for Global Health (Jan 2023). His LinkedIn lists the role as Jan 2023–May 2024. Documented (the end date is per LinkedIn) Sources: NY Post, Aug 1, 2023; syracuse.com; LinkedIn

Where is he now

  • Podcast host ("Docology") and public commentator on vaccine policy. Documented (secondary via the X bio)
  • His recent X posts (account @howardzuckermd, unverified) Documented (text):
    • Feb 6, 2026 (post): "Just read that some members of ACIP are pushing the FDA to restrict Covid-19 vaccination recommendations and possibly rescind them. Have we forgotten what happened in 2020? I haven't! I was the NYS health commissioner, counting down the days until a vaccine was available to stem…" (truncated in the API)
    • Jan 6, 2026 (post): "Simply put, the CDC's decision to cut vaccination recommendations for children is beyond horrific…"
    • Dec 1, 2025 (post), replying to @stkirsch: "HPV vaccine prevents cervical cancer… Spreading misinformation hinders advancements in public health."
  • The Daily Beast quoted him as an ex-CDC official warning the CDC was on a "dangerous path" under RFK Jr. Documented Source: Daily Beast

Top sources

Last reviewed November 2026 (research pass Nov. 2–3, 2026). This profile is updated as new records surface. Corrections: Press@EpidemicOfFraud.com

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