State Health Secretary Dr. Rachel Levine’s appointment as Assistant Secretary of Health in the Biden administration was met yesterday with praise as a personal achievement, but some in Harrisburg are happy to see her go for a different reason.
State Senator Judy Ward, who chairs the Senate Committee on Aging and Youth, issued a statement saying “we cannot ignore the shortcomings in her performance…particularly during the COVID-19 pandemic.”
Ward is especially critical of Levine and Governor Tom Wolf for a number of policies, such as forcing nursing homes to take covid patients, failing to maintain an adequate supply of PPE, and the state’s slow rollout of the virus vaccine. She also blames Levine for the opioid epidemic “significantly worsening in 2020,” with its death rate increasing 11.7 percent through June 30th compared to the year before.
Ward cites statistical evidence such as Pennsylvania’s 60 percent covid death rate in nursing homes and long-term care facilities, compared to the national average of 38 percent
The senator says Pennsylvania ranks as one of the lowest states in the northeast in vaccine distribution, with about 2.7 of every 100 residents having been vaccinated, putting us behind more than 30 other states.
State House Republican leaders sent a letter yesterday to Governor Wolf, asking for a briefing explaining why the state’s covid vaccine rollout has been so slow.
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