Howard A. Zucker (born September 6, 1959) served as the 16th commissioner of the New York State Department of Health from 2015-2021. He was appointed to the position by Governor Andrew Cuomo in 2015 and had served as Acting Commissioner the prior year after the abrupt resignation of Dr. Nirav Shah. During the COVID-19 pandemic, he appeared frequently in media as the ultimate expert on the status of the pandemic in the State of New York.