Deborah Birx Bio-Wiki, Age, Family, Husband, COVID-19, and Net Worth

Who is Deborah Birx?

Deborah Birx (full name: Deborah Leah Birx) is a world-renowned global health official and a retired U.S. Army physician. Birx’s more three-decade-long career focused on HIV/AIDS immunology, vaccine research, and global health.

As of March 2020, Birx was appointed by Mike Pence as the Coronavirus Response Coordinator for the Trump Administration’s White House Coronavirus Task Force. She served as Ambassador-at-Large and United States Global AIDS Coordinator from 2014 to 2020. There, she was responsible for the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) program in 65 countries supporting HIV/AIDS treatment and also prevention programs.

Birx served as an active duty reserve officer in the United States Army from 1980 to 1994. She was active duty regular Army, achieving the rank of Colonel from 1994 to 2008.

She also worked as a physician at the Walter Reed Army Medical Center. Birx completed a one-year internship and did a two-year residency in internal medicine in 1981. She also completed two fellowships in clinical immunology in the areas of allergies and diagnostics, where she worked in Anthony Fauci’s lab from 1983 to 1986. She served as the assistant chief of the Walter Reed Allergy/Immunology Service from 1985 to 1989. Starting her career as a clinician in immunology finally focusing on HIV/AIDS vaccine research.

A photo of Deborah Birx
A photo of Deborah Birx

She worked at the National Institutes of Health as an investigator specializing in cellular immunology from 1986 to 1989.

On April 4, 2014, she was appointed to be the Ambassador at Large and U.S. Global AIDS Coordinator as part of the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) program.

How Old is Deborah Birx?

Birx is 64 years old as of 2020. She was born on April 4, 1956, in Pennsylvania, U.S.

Deborah Birx Family

Birx was born to Donald Birx, a mathematician and electrical engineer, and Adele Sparks Birx, a nursing instructor. She grew up in Pennsylvania and has two older brothers. Birx’s older brother Don Birx is president of Plymouth State University. Deborah’s later brother named Danny was an accomplished scientist who founded a research company.

Birx and her brothers converted the backyard shed into a makeshift lab. They had a notable invention which is a satellite-dish antenna that they moved around on roller skates, the Society for Science & the Public reported. Birx and her family lived in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania.

Deborah Birx Education

Birx attended Lampeter-Strasburg High School. In her sophomore year, she won third place at the Lancaster City-County Science Fair. She was also featured in a front-page story in the Lancaster New Era with the subhead: Girls Sweep Top 3 Prizes. In her junior year, she competed in the International Science and Engineering Fair in San Diego. She attended Carlisle High for her final year of high school after her family moved. In her senior year, Birx competed at the Capital Area Science Fair and was awarded the Grand Prize.

Birx later attended Houghton College from where she earned a BS in chemistry in 1976 having completed her undergraduate studies in just two years. She earned an MD from the Hershey Medical Center, Pennsylvania State University in 1980.

Deborah Birx Husband

Birx is married to Paige Reffe and she has two daughters. She lives with her parents, husband, and also the family of one of her daughters in a multi-generational home.

Deborah Birx COVID-19

The Vice President of the United States, Mike Pence appointed Birx to the position of White House Coronavirus (COVID-19) Response Coordinator on February 27, 2020. She reports to Pence on the White House Coronavirus Task Force as part of the role.

Since her appointment, she’s been on national TV almost daily, often alongside Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation’s top infectious-disease expert. Birx went viral on Twitter on Friday 24th April 2020 as a result of her body language as President Trump suggested bright-light treatments and disinfectants to fight the coronavirus.

The video shoed Birx sitting still, taking a deep breath, blinking, setting her face still, and then staring at the ground.

Deborah Birx Net Worth

Through her political career, Birx has earned great net worth. However, her net worth is not yet revealed to the public.