New York City’s new health commissar – who infuriated the public by stating that children younger than five years old should wear masks ‘indefinitely’ – is being investigated for creating a toxic environment at work during his previous tenure.
According to an investigation by, he may also have failed to declare that he was unemployed during his current role’s screening process. POLITICO.
Former primary care physician, Dr. Ashwin Vasan, has returned to the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene as commissioner. This is a worrying development for former and current colleagues.
Three ex-employees spoke anonymously to POLITICO, claiming that he earned a bad reputation as a boss and created a toxic work environment which eventually forced him out of his previous job.
Vasan was the founder executive director of Health Access Equity Unit. He was responsible for creating an innovative program linking health and criminal justice and a fundraising network that could bring in millions of dollars of outside funding.
Politico learned that Vasan earned a reputation for being a difficult boss and difficult boss during his tenure. They described Vasan’s behavior as being a curt and dismissive towards his female colleagues.
This week, Dr. Ashwin Vasan was re-elected to the health department with a new position: NYC Health Commissioner. He is being investigated for allegedly creating toxic work environments in his previous job.
Dr. Ashwin Vasan, NYC’s new commissioner for health, caused outrage last week when he said that children aged five and under should continue to wear their face masks indefinitely’.
Vasan was the victim of at least two complaints in his previous role at health department between 2016-2019. This led to Sonia Angell, his supervisor (pictured), intervening.
At least two complaints were lodged against him, Politico learned, which prompted intervention from his supervisor,then-deputy commissioner Sonia Angell.
Politico asked Vasan if he knew of any complaints against him during his tenure at health department. He replied, “Not specifically, no.”
According to agency records obtained from the outlet, Vasan’s supervisors were satisfied with his work. One performance review stated, “greatly exceeds expectations.”
Vasan was told to undergo management coaching after the complaints.
Staff members say that Angell caused tension in the workplace after his initial review. His time at the agency ended abruptly after another review.
As Vasan assumes his new position as commissioner, some staffers are worried about the implications of his leadership for the agency.
In an interview with POLITICO, Vasan stated that it is difficult to respond to complaints that don’t have specific details. “I’ll only repeat what I said at the beginning: In my professional career where I’ve managed hundreds, worked with hundreds, and had to deal with people from many backgrounds, demographic groups, personalities, and cultures, I’ve tried hard to build relationships based on communication, kindness, dignity, and good communication.
“I will lead that way here and show up every day for New Yorkers as well as for everyone at the agency in exactly that manner.”
Mayor Eric Adams appointed Vasan to oversee a $1.6billion budget and a staff of 6,000 people as he works to aid the city’s recovery after the coronavirus pandemic.
Vasan, who was being vetted for the position of commissioner, attested that he hadn’t been unemployed more than four months after graduating high school, Politico learned.
He did not list any employment during the seven months that elapsed between his abrupt departure and the beginning of his job at Fountain House, a national nonprofit organization. He did however note that he worked at J. Crew said that Crew worked only for a few months in 2002, which could explain the discrepancy.
Vasan explained that he had to take a break in order to fill his resume gap.
“I took a rest.” He stated that he wanted patients to see and that he wanted teaching. I wanted to spend more quality time with my family, and travel. I did a lot of things during that time. I was also involved in a very aggressive recruitment process that lasted many months to help me make the decision to be the CEO of Fountain House. It was all my fault, and it was a great experience.
Eric Adams, New York City Mayor said he will lift mask mandates for children under five years of age on April 4, if COVID case numbers continue to fall.
Vasan caused outrage on Friday when he announced that children under five years old should wear face masks indefinitely. Vasan seemed to change his mind just a few more days later.
Mayor Eric Adams and Eric Adams held a press conference where they announced that the city would no longer require children under five to wear school masks – provided COVID cases do not continue to fall.
In recent weeks, the mandate for children younger than five years old has been a source of parental anger. Several protests outside City Hall attracted hundreds of people.
Adams stated that he intends to lift the policy on 4 April.
The commissioner, who is the father of a four-year old son, said that unmasking is not safe for unvaccinated children
Vasan, who lives in Brooklyn, is married to his partner and has three children, including one four-year-old boy. He previously claimed he wanted children to be masked because they are not vaccinated for children under five.
‘As a father to two-and-a half year old and two other older children, I want to keep them safe as much as possible. According to CBS New York, Vasan stated that he would love to send his son to daycare without wearing a mask.
“But as a scientist, a doctor, an epidemiologist, I want him to be safe because he isn’t eligible for a vaccine.
His comments caused fear and fury among New York parents, who now face the prospect of having to forcibly keep their children wearing a mask despite mounting evidence that they are not at risk.
It also comes after every state, even California, has lifted or declared plans to lift masking regulations in schools.
Hawaii is the only exception, dropping its indoor mask mandate in March 26th. However, it is expected to extend the requirement for schools.
New York City and New York State also lifted school mask mandates earlier in the month.
Vasan is the latest addition in Mayor Eric Adams’ group of progressive leaders that includes controversial District Attorney Alvin Bragg.
He has publicly supported the Black Lives Matter Movement, critical race theory and even vaccinated his children against COVID.
“First they came to Critical Race Theory, now they are coming to mental health and suicide prevention programs. This is happening while we are in the midst a national children’s mental illness emergency. “Absurd doesn’t begin to describe this logic,” he tweeted in November 2021.
He showed his support for Black Lives Matter in May 2021 to mark the anniversary of George Floyd’s death.
He tweeted, “While some progress has occurred in the past year, including the conviction for George Floyd’s killer, it’s still not enough. We still have a ways to go before Black Lives Matter becomes a governing philosophy that is supported by substantive policy reforms at all levels.
He also supported progressive talk points such as defunding police and ending the imprisonment of mental illness victims. Instead, he suggested that criminals receive the resources they need to thrive within their communities.
Adams has appointed Vasan as the pandemic’s coordinator, but the two seem to have opposing views on COVID issues. On Thursday, Adams told angry parents that he was going to lift the mask mandates for children.
Vasan is the 44th Health Commissioner of the city, replacing Dr. Dave Chokshi.
Friday’s comments were made at his first COVID press conference. Many people online reacted with anger to the accusations that he ‘tortured children’.
It should be up to us, the parents, to decide whether our children wear a mask. Kimberly Raimondo stated that parents should worry about NYC’s crime rate and not their children.
“Why are we hiding the little ones?” Dawn Doccola asked Dawn Doccola if that was child abuse.
“Really, pathetic these corrupt politicians (sic) just can’t let it go. Dimitrios Skaliotis wrote that it was already proven that it doesn’t work and makes matters worse.
The debate over the BA.2 COVID variant, which is a sub-variant to the Omicron, has led to the push for rescinding mandates.
According to The New York Daily News Vasan said that there is currently no evidence that BA.2 causes more severe disease, increases the risk of hospitalization, or that our current vaccines offer less protection.
He stated, “We are monitoring these variants very closely.”
Vasan also stated that he does not plan to change the city’s mandate for workplace vaccinations anytime soon.
Eric Adams is shown telling a NYC dad not to yell in front of his daughter, after being confronted about the unmasked city under-5s.
Vasan, despite his desire for continued mandates, did acknowledge that restrictions are taking a toll upon residents and reminded them of the importance of their mental health – an area the doctor seems passionate about.
Vasan said that ‘We’ve all been through somthing over these last few years and continuing coverage adds stress to wellbeing’, and encouraged New Yorkers not to disregard their mental health.
New York saw a spike last weekend in positive cases. Experts attribute this to a sub-variant of the BA.2 variant.
COVID cases increased more than twice in the state last week. The positivity rate jumped from 1.45 percent on March 14, to 3.75 percent one day later.
As of Friday, the state’s seven day average positivity rate was 1.76 per cent.
On Friday, there were 1,344 new COVID cases in the state and five deaths.
New York has seen 4.95M cases of COVID in New York and 67.203 deaths since the start of the pandemic.
Monday’s announcement by Governor Kathy Hochul included that COVID hospitalizations throughout New York, which total at 901 – are at their lowest since August.
Vasan, a primary-care physician with 20 years of experience in the medical field and in epidemiology and public medicine, was assigned to manage pandemic management, recovery and response.
He also works to prevent chronic diseases, promote health equity and improve mental health.
The public health expert spent almost a decade expanding HIV treatment access to developing countries.
Quinn estimates that the variant accounts for around 30% of NYC’s COVID cases.
Most recently, he was President and CEO of Fountain House which is one of the largest mental healthcare charities in the country.
He was also a member of the Columbia University Mailman College of Public Health staff since 2014. His focus was on the implementation of science, global health, and other issues.
Additionally, he worked for the College of Physicians and Surgeons where he provided care for low-income, Medicaid/Medicare and uninsured residents from Washington Heights, Harlem and the South Bronx.
The comments of the newly-minted health commissioner come just one day after Mayor Adams was confronted in anger by a group of parents.
He eventually promised to live up to the mask mandate for children.
“I got that.” Adams stated Thursday that they would be unmasked, but he didn’t specify when.
Adams’ visit to the pub got marred by multiple parents asking when their children would be allowed remove the masks they still wear at school.
They must continue to wear face covers because COVID vaccinations have not been approved for children under 5.
Maria Kubak (36), a financial professional, waited with another mom inside the Pig & Whistle pub where Adams enjoyed an earlier morning pint of Guinness. Adams was there to press the mayor about lifting the restriction for toddlers and tykes.
He asked the mothers if they wanted to be the mayor.
One says back to the other, “I would love to hear about you,”
He said, “I’m a father too.”
Kubak, who has a 3-year-old daughter, and a 4-year-old brother, said she wanted him to remember that his 26 year-old son does not have to wear a face mask.
He walked out before she had a chance.
She said, “I find that’s very condescending because as a mother to toddlers, it’s a very valid question.”
