Gov. Janet Mills announced Thursday that Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention Director Dr. Nirav D. Shah has been appointed Principal Deputy Director at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (U.S. CDC). That will make Shah second in command under U.S. CDC Director Rochelle Walensky. He will take over the role in March.His appointment is part of a planned broader overhaul of that agency announced by the U.S. CDC director in August 2022.“While I’m sad to leave the Maine CDC, I’m proud of what we’ve accomplished,” Shah said. “I’m thankful for the opportunity that Gov. Mills and Commissioner Lambrew provided me to serve the people of Maine. In my new role, I will be honored to serve not just Maine, but the entire nation and carry forward the good work that we have done here. As I prepare for this next step, I thank the people of Maine for taking care of me, as I’ve always asked them to take care of each other.”Shah was appointed to his role leading the Maine CDC in June 2019 and was tasked with rebuilding the agency and the public health infrastructure. He quickly became the face of Maine’s COVID-19 response and was one of the most recognizable faces in the state. He became so popular that Wilbur’s of Maine even created a chocolate bar in his honor: the Shah Bar.“Dr. Shah has been a trusted adviser to me and an extraordinary leader of the Maine CDC. But even more than that, he was a trusted advisor and a leader to the people of Maine during one of the greatest public health crises of our time. Day after day, week after week, Dr. Shah spoke calmly and directly to the people of Maine, many of whom were scared and uncertain. He delivered to us the unvarnished truth, as best we knew it, and answered our questions with compassion, empathy, humor, and a clarity that gave us much-needed hope in our darkest of days,” Mills said. Maine DHHS has already started the search for a new Maine CDC Director. For now, Deputy Director Nancy Beardsley will serve as acting director, a position she also held prior to Shah’s arrival.
Gov. Janet Mills announced Thursday that Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention Director Dr. Nirav D. Shah has been appointed Principal Deputy Director at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (U.S. CDC).
That will make Shah second in command under U.S. CDC Director Rochelle Walensky. He will take over the role in March.
His appointment is part of a planned broader overhaul of that agency announced by the U.S. CDC director in August 2022.
“While I’m sad to leave the Maine CDC, I’m proud of what we’ve accomplished,” Shah said. “I’m thankful for the opportunity that Gov. Mills and Commissioner Lambrew provided me to serve the people of Maine. In my new role, I will be honored to serve not just Maine, but the entire nation and carry forward the good work that we have done here. As I prepare for this next step, I thank the people of Maine for taking care of me, as I’ve always asked them to take care of each other.”
Shah was appointed to his role leading the Maine CDC in June 2019 and was tasked with rebuilding the agency and the public health infrastructure. He quickly became the face of Maine’s COVID-19 response and was one of the most recognizable faces in the state. He became so popular that Wilbur’s of Maine even created a chocolate bar in his honor: the Shah Bar.
“Dr. Shah has been a trusted adviser to me and an extraordinary leader of the Maine CDC. But even more than that, he was a trusted advisor and a leader to the people of Maine during one of the greatest public health crises of our time. Day after day, week after week, Dr. Shah spoke calmly and directly to the people of Maine, many of whom were scared and uncertain. He delivered to us the unvarnished truth, as best we knew it, and answered our questions with compassion, empathy, humor, and a clarity that gave us much-needed hope in our darkest of days,” Mills said.
Maine DHHS has already started the search for a new Maine CDC Director. For now, Deputy Director Nancy Beardsley will serve as acting director, a position she also held prior to Shah’s arrival.
