On Tuesday, incoming President Joe Biden announced he would nominate transgender Pennsylvania Health Secretary Rachel Levine (born Richard Levine) for assistant secretary of health. Levine, a male who identifies as female, faced harsh criticism for removing his mother from a personal care home during the COVID-19 pandemic after he had directed nursing facilities to admit people who had previously tested positive for COVID-19. The elderly are at particular risk for the virus.
“Dr. Rachel Levine will bring the steady leadership and essential expertise we need to get people through this pandemic — no matter their zip code, race, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity, or disability — and meet the public health needs of our country in this critical moment and beyond,” Biden said in a statement. “She is a historic and deeply qualified choice to help lead our administration’s health efforts.”
A graduate of Harvard and of Tulane Medical School, Levine also serves as president of the Association of State and Territorial Health Officials.
In May, multiple members of the Pennsylvania State House demanded Levine’s resignation over “the horrific results of the [health] department’s COVID-19 policy” on nursing homes and other facilities under the department’s oversight. More than half (10,022) of Pennsylvania’s 19,390 COVID-19 deaths can be traced back to long-term care facilities. In May, long-term care facilities made up two-thirds of the state’s COVID-19 deaths and Levine reportedly delayed releasing public information about the state’s response to the virus in such facilities. – READ MORE
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