New state health commissioner reflects on omicron response so far

New York state officially has a new health commissioner.

Dr. Mary Bassett was confirmed to the position by a vote in the state Senate on Thursday. She replaced Dr. Howard Zucker, who resigned. Bassett took over as acting health commissioner December 1, the same day New York had its first confirmed omicron case.

She is now fully recovered from her own COVID infection last month.

As Bassett was being confirmed, NewsChannel 13 sat down with her for a one on one interview about the pandemic, and if there’s anything she would have done differently.

Since taking over, she says she feels good about what the state’s done so far. That includes implementing the "Test to Stay" program in schools, now recommending booster shots for health care workers, and the "Vax or Mask" mandate.

Those mandates have been a sore subject for some. Senate Republicans on Wednesday expressed frustration over what they call "one size fits all" mandates.

NewsChannel 13 asked her if it’s time to start breaking things up by region. Hear her response, by watching the video of Subrina Dhammi’s story.