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San Francisco Losing Health Officer Aragón, Who Will Lead California Health Department

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Gov. Gavin Newsom on Monday appointed Dr. Tomás Aragón to be the director of the California Department of Public Health.

Aragón has been the health officer for the city and county of San Francisco since 2011. A child of Nicaraguan immigrants, he grew up in San Francisco’s Mission District with his mother and three siblings. He has advanced degrees from Harvard Medical School, the Harvard School of Public Health and the UC Berkeley School of Public Health.

He takes over from interim Director Sandra Shewry and acting State Health Officer Dr. Erica Pan. Both have been filling in after Dr. Sonia Angell, who had both roles, resigned abruptly last summer following a technical problem that led to undercounts of new coronavirus cases in July and August.

Aragón’s appointment must be confirmed by the California state Senate.

—Laura Klivans (@lauraklivans)

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