Dr. Mark Levine was visiting his 6-month-old granddaughter on the night when he said everything hit.
鈥淢y phone was off the hook, I couldn鈥檛 even have a proper visit,鈥� he told Vermont Edition on Tuesday. It was the beginning of March 2020.
鈥淭hank God I decided to come home right away, because I might never have got a plane again to do that.鈥�
In the following days, he would speak at a state press conference describing the first cases of COVID-19 in Vermont, then, a few weeks later, the first deaths from the disease, and the by the end of that month. He would go on to provide updates at hundreds of press conferences as the pandemic wore on.
鈥淭he whole goal we dedicated ourselves to was trying to prevent as many of those tragic outcomes as possible,鈥� he said.
鈥淲e feel pretty comfortable about those early decisions we made.鈥�
Levine noted that Vermont had the lowest death rate from COVID in the continental U.S., and hospital ICUs were never overflowing with patients. He attributes this in part to people following public health guidance, including lengthy lockdowns.
鈥淚f it went on a little too long, it was because we were being more conservative, and wanted to 鈥� protect public health and public safety to the greatest degree possible,鈥� he said.
Many described Levine鈥檚 updates as a lifeline, offering a calm, steadying voice during a scary time. 鈥淚 just feel like you have been in my living room these past years,鈥� Karen, from Moretown, wrote into Vermont Edition.
Levine will be retiring at the end of the month, following eight years as the head of the state鈥檚 health department.
He described leaving at a challenging time in public health as a number of federal agencies are without permanent leaders, including the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, along with the dismantling of programs dedicated to public health research, including the closure of an .
鈥淎t the very top of leadership in the country, we see elements of denial of science, denial of sound evidence that vaccines work,鈥� he said, referring to Robert F. Kennedy Jr. "and his boss.鈥�
And in Vermont, some older adults said there are still issues accessing COVID booster vaccines through Medicare.
Levine said that鈥檚 something the state is working on.
鈥淵ou're going to hear more and more about that in future months,鈥� he said.
鈥淭hat should potentially help the problem.鈥�
