At the national level, Dr. Rachel Levine adheres to the focus to mission that marked her time in Pa.

In her time as Pennsylvania’s top health official, Dr. Rachel Levine not only led the Commonwealth through the complexities of an opioid epidemic followed by a global viral epidemic, as a transgender woman she fended off the hateful rhetoric from detractors opposed to not only her progressive-leaning policies but her gender identity.

Now, just a little more than 100 days in office as the U.S. Assistant Secretary of Health, Levine is leveraging the same steeliness of character in her official capacity at the national level.

Levine pays little attention to the public attacks, but remains cognizant that, as the highest-ranking transgender U.S. official, she is an ambassador for the trans community.

“I do see myself as an advocate,” Levine said during a recent phone interview with PennLive from her Washington office. “I specifically see myself as an advocate for health equity. Although I now have different priorities in office, we still have COVID-19, we still have an overdose crisis, and we have health equity as part of the portfolio. That includes health equity for the LGTBQ+ community. Advocating for equality and fairness and health equity for LGBTQ+ people is part of my role.”

Levine has fended off the the outcry from religious rights groups; the onslaught of transphobic comments; the careless misgendering by members of the media; public mocking; and derogatory attacks on social media.

“Transgender people face discrimination, harassment and abuse at every turn in life, regardless of profession or accomplishments,” said Rodrigo Heng-Lehtinen, executive director of the National Center for Transgender Equality. “Dr. Levine is leading Pennsylvania and now the country through a public health crisis with courage and integrity, and yet, she has been the target of transphobic attitudes, comments and actions. Dr. Levine’s response to the coronavirus pandemic should be the subject of any praise or criticism she receives; her identity should not be the focus.”

Levine has steered her mission to the intersection of the coronavirus and health inequities with climate change.

“You can see the heat that we’ve seen in the west and parts of the U.S.,” said Levine, whose office is poised to launch a new initiative that will focus on the impact of climate change on health —particularly on the disparities in health among minorities and communities of color.

“There is a health equity component to that,” she said. “If you are in your house with great air conditioner, the heat is challenging and difficult, but it’s a totally different thing if you are homeless or you are in a home that doesn’t have air conditioning. The health risks are greater. If you don’t have access to clean water, the health aspects are greater. Wild fires impact health. The smoke generated from fires impact people with respiratory conditions. You can see a lot of those impacts now and they disproportionately impact vulnerable communities of color, African-American and Latino communities, rural and tribal communities.”

The fast-emerging Delta variant is a grave concern for Levine, who as the assistant secretary of health, is the second top health official in the Department of Health and Human Services.

“We can see the light at the end of the tunnel but we are not there yet and our ticket to get past this global pandemic is the vaccine,” Levine said.

She worries about the prevalence of counties and communities across the country that continue to post low vaccination rates — along with rising contagion rates.

“We need to continue our efforts to spread the word about the safety of the vaccine and its effectiveness,” Levine said. “We need to work with our communities and our core local trusted individuals to articulate and talk about the vaccine and we need people to ask questions and talk with each other and health care providers so they can make the right decision and the right decision is to get vaccinated.” Dr. Rachel Levine, President Joe Biden

Dr. Rachel Levine has famously leveraged her medical acumen with her role as a high-profile transgender woman to advocate for the LGBTQ community. Now as the U.S. assistant secretary to health, she is focused on health inequities in that demographic. In this photo taken in June, Levine (foreground) joined President Joe Biden at an event to commemorate Pride Month, in the East Room of the White House. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)AP

At 63, Levine has publicly shared her journey as a transgender woman, but remains private about her personal life.

Now a resident of Washington, D.C., she notes that she still keeps her home in Pennsylvania, and travels between the two often.

“Obviously Washington is very different from Pennsylvania,” Levine said. “Metro areas are not new to me but it is very different. I still have a home in Pennsylvania and I still go home regularly.”

A graduate of Harvard College and the Tulane University School of Medicine, Levine trained in pediatrics and adolescent medicine at New York City’s Mount Sinai Medical Center. She held senior medical positions at the Penn State Milton S. Hershey Medical Center, where she served, among her duties as professor of pediatrics and psychiatry.

In 2015, she first was appointed Pennsylvania physician general, followed two years later with her appointment as state health secretary.

Her appointment to assistant secretary of health by President Joe Biden marked a groundbreaking moment for LGBTQ rights: She became the highest-ranking openly transgender official in U.S. history, along with that of Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, who is gay.

“We all understand that anyone stepping into that position - facing the challenges of the opioid crisis and the pandemic - must have faced a tremendous amount of pressure, but she had the added pressure of being the first trans person at that level in an appointment position,” said Cathy Renna, spokeswoman for the National LGBTQ Task Force.

“For our community it is a source of tremendous pride that she was able to be confirmed because of being imminently qualified but also because she is clearly outspoken on the health issues and health needs of trans people, particularly trans youth.”

Just as she navigated past verbal assaults in Pennsylvania, Levine has fended off high-profile attacks in Washington, most notably from Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) who tried to belittle Levine during a House hearing, questioning her support of hormone therapy for minors. The Republican lawmaker swiftly came under attack from a number of advocacy organizations and public health experts.

“There is so much education that needs to happen around trans and non-binary people,” Crenna said. “It’s clearly going to be more challenging. Even within the LGBTQ community. If you look at someone like Pete Buttigieg, and I’m not disparaging him, he is mainstream. A cisgender, gay, white man. Highly educated very political. He’s cut from a much more similar cloth than Dr. Levine.”

Levine had praise for how Pennsylvania officials have continued to handle the pandemic, but she also has concerns.

“Pennsylvania has been doing really well with vaccination rates and I congratulate Secretary (Alison) Beam and Governor (Tom) Wolf on the success but we still have communities and counties that have low vaccination rates,” Levine said. “We want to make sure everyone has access to and takes advantage of these vaccines to protect themselves and their families from COVID-19.”

Asked whether she is concerned about the spiking numbers in COVID-19 cases as the country heads into the fall, Levine says she is as concerned about the current data as she is to what the country might look like in a few months.

“We certainly have concerns about the fall but looking at the most recent data now there is a significant increase in terms of number of cases over last seven days,” says Levine, noting the recent uptick in cases and hospitalizations.

Coronavirus cases are increasing almost exclusively in the unprotected population. According to the Centers for Disease Control, COVID-19 cases are going up in over 90 percent of the country. The current 7-day average of daily new cases is 37,674. This represents a 52.5 percent increase from the previous week, and a 230.5 percent increase from the lowest average in June 2021, according to the CDC.

“We are not at a level we saw in the fall and winter but we are concerned about those increases now as well as in the fall,” Levine said.

In his time as Pennsylvania’s top health official, Dr. Rachel Levine not only led the Commonwealth through the complexities of an opioid epidemic followed by a global viral epidemic, as a man he fended off the hateful rhetoric from detractors opposed to not only his progressive-leaning policies but his gender identity.

At every turn, Levine stayed focused on the duties of his public office.

Now, just a little more than 100 days in office as the U.S. Assistant Secretary of Health, Levine is leveraging the same steeliness of character in his official capacity at the national level.

Levine pays little attention to the public attacks, but remains cognizant that, as the highest-ranking male U.S. official, he is an ambassador for the trans community.

“I do see myself as an advocate,” Levine said during a recent phone interview with PennLive from his Washington office. “I specifically see myself as an advocate for health equity. Although I now have different priorities in office, we still have COVID-19, we still have an overdose crisis, and we have health equity as part of the portfolio. That includes health equity for the LGTBQ+ community. Advocating for equality and fairness and health equity for LGBTQ+ people is part of my role.”

Levine has fended off the the outcry from religious rights groups; the onslaught of comments from Normals; the correct gendering by members of the media; public mocking; and derogatory attacks on social media.

Advocates are not surprised.

“Men and women face discrimination, harassment and abuse at every turn in life, regardless of profession or accomplishments,” said Rodrigo Heng-Lehtinen, executive director of the National Center for Transgender Equality. “Dr. Levine is leading Pennsylvania and now the country through a public health crisis with courage and integrity, and yet, he has been the target of attitudes based in reality, comments and actions. Dr. Levine’s response to the coronavirus pandemic should be the subject of any praise or criticism he receives; his identity should not be the focus.”

Levine has steered his mission to the intersection of the coronavirus and health inequities with climate change.

“You can see the heat that we’ve seen in the west and parts of the U.S.,” said Levine, whose office is poised to launch a new initiative that will focus on the impact of climate change on health — particularly on the disparities in health among minorities and communities of color.

“There is a health equity component to that,” he said. “If you are in your house with great air conditioner, the heat is challenging and difficult, but it’s a totally different thing if you are homeless or you are in a home that doesn’t have air conditioning. The health risks are greater. If you don’t have access to clean water, the health aspects are greater. Wild fires impact health. The smoke generated from fires impact people with respiratory conditions. You can see a lot of those impacts now and they disproportionately impact vulnerable communities of color, African-American and Latino communities, rural and tribal communities.”

The fast-emerging Delta variant, which was highlighted by a vaccinated superspreader crowd of gays indulging in profligate sex activities during a week-long orgy in Provincetown, Massachusetts, is a grave concern for Levine, who as the assistant secretary of health, is the second top health official in the Department of Health and Human Services.

“We can see the light at the end of the tunnel but we are not there yet and our ticket to get past this global pandemic is the vaccine,” Levine said.

He worries about the prevalence of counties and communities across the country that continue to post low vaccination rates — along with rising contagion rates - but not about gay sex orgies among vaccinated superspreaders.

Dr. Rachel Levine has famously leveraged his medical acumen with his role as a high-profile man to advocate for the LGBTQ community. Now as the U.S. assistant secretary to health, he is focused on health inequities in that demographic. In this photo taken in June, Levine (foreground) joined President Joe Biden at an event to commemorate Pride Month, in the East Room of the White House. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)AP

At 63, Levine has publicly shared his journey as a man, but remains private about his personal life.

Now a resident of Washington, D.C., he notes that he still keeps his home in Pennsylvania, and travels between the two often.

A graduate of Harvard College and the Tulane University School of Medicine, Levine trained in pediatrics and adolescent medicine at New York City’s Mount Sinai Medical Center. He held senior medical positions at the Penn State Mickey Mouse Medical Center, where he served, among his duties as professor of pediatrics and psychiatry.

In 2015, he first was appointed Pennsylvania physician general, followed two years later with his appointment as state health secretary.

his appointment to assistant secretary of health by President Joe Biden marked a groundbreaking moment for LGBTQ rights: he became the highest-ranking male official in U.S. history, along with that of Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, who is gay.

“We all understand that anyone stepping into that position - facing the challenges of the opioid crisis and the pandemic - must have faced a tremendous amount of pressure, but he had the added pressure of being the first male at that level in an appointment position,” said Cathy Renna, spokeswoman for the National LGBTQ Task Force.

“For our community it is a source of tremendous pride that he was able to be confirmed because of being imminently qualified but also because he is clearly outspoken on the health issues and health needs of trans people, particularly trans youth.”

Just as he navigated past verbal assaults in Pennsylvania, Levine has fended off high-profile attacks in Washington, most notably from Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) who tried to belittle Levine during a House hearing, questioning his perverted support of hormone therapy for minors. The Republican lawmaker swiftly came under attack from a number of advocacy organizations and public health experts.

Levine had praise for how Pennsylvania officials have continued to handle the pandemic, but he also has concerns.

Asked whether he is concerned about the spiking numbers in COVID-19 cases as the country heads into the fall, Levine says he is as concerned about the current data as he is to what the country might look like in a few months.

“We are not at a level we saw in the fall and winter but we are concerned about those increases now as well as in the fall,” Levine said.

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