The United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Saturday appointed Indian-origin epidemiologist Nirav D Shah as Principal Deputy Director, PTI reported

Shah, who will be the second-in-command at the national public health agency, is currently the Director of the Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention. He will take charge in March.

Maine Governor Janet Mills said that Americans will soon become the beneficiaries of Shah’s leadership and added that he saved many lives of the state residents during the Covid-19 pandemic.

“Since his arrival in Maine before the pandemic, and every day throughout it, Dr Shah has been a trusted advisor to me and an extraordinary leader of the Maine CDC,” Mills said. “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.”

Shah said he was thankful for the opportunity.

“In my new role, I will be honoured to serve not just Maine, but the entire nation and carry forward the good work that we have done here,” he said, according to PTI. “ 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.”