Dr. John Hellerstedt, commissioner of the Texas Department of State Health Services, watches as Gov. Greg Abbott declares a statewide emergency over coronavirus infections on March 13, 2020. Hellerstedt is retiring at the end of this month., our daily newsletter that keeps readers up to speed on the most essential Texas news.
“He is credited for spearheading the state’s public health response to the COVID-19 pandemic,” Cecile Erwin Young, the Texas Health and Human Services executive commissioner, wrote in a news release. Hellerstedt’s interim replacement will be Dr. Jennifer Shuford, the chief state epidemiologist at the health agency. Shuford was also credited with supporting the state’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic to make public health decisions. Shuford joined DSHS in 2017 after practicing as an infectious disease physician in Austin.