Hundreds of thousands of people have contracted Coronavirus worldwide since the pandemic struck. However, every community is affected either socially, economically, or politically due to the pandemic. The LGBTQ communities in the United States face unique challenges and many other communities due to their economic and health care situations. Several health inequalities have emerged since the pandemic outbreak in early 2020, including economic, racial, and regional differences[1]. As important as it is to point out the disparities in health that LGBT people and communities confront, it is equally critical to recognize how COVID-19 has adversely harmed LGBT people and communities. COVID-19’s economic impact is likely to be felt by everyone, but LGBTQ people are particularly at risk. It is estimated that 30.2% of LGBTQ Americans have lost their employment, and 17.9% have seen a reduction in pay in the past year (Krause, 2021, s69). This project synthesizes different sources to determine how ell patterns and trends are in the research topic Impact of COVID 19 on the LGBTQ community.
Approximately 20% of LGBTQ people claim that their finances are “far worse off” than the general population, and they are twice as likely to predict that their finances will worsen in the next year[2]. It will be difficult for the LGBTQ community to recover as rapidly as the heterosexual community in the current global economic climate, the worst since World War II.
There are also significant health care access issues to take into account. There was a lack of understanding among health care providers and a history of stigmatizing experiences among LGBTQ people before the pandemic. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 17% of LGBTQ individuals had no health insurance in 2018, compared to 12% of the overall population. Moreover, a quarter (23%) of LGBTQ individuals of color and 22% of transgender adults say they lack health insurance, illustrating the widening gap between them (Kuehn, 2022, p. 910). Free COVID-19 testing is available in many states and local governments. However, it should be focused on the LGBTQ community to guarantee a comfortable and stigma-free testing experience.
Limited data on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on LGBT individuals in the United States suggest that this population may be more severely affected than others. Among the many possible explanations are that LGBT people have a higher risk of poorer COVID-19 outcomes due to higher rates of comorbidities; that they work in industries with high comorbidity rates, such as health care and restaurants/food services; that they earn less money than non-LGBT people; that they face stigma and discrimination because of their sexual orientation or gender identity; and, for transgender people, they face additional barriers to health care. A new study from the KFF COVID-19 Vaccine Monitor examines how LGBT persons with a self-identified sexual orientation or gender identity have fared after receiving the COVID-19 vaccine and comparisons with the non-LGBT population (Gil et al., 2021, n, p). The research finds that LGBT adults had different experiences with the pandemic than non-LGBT people in several key areas, including their risk of contracting COVID-19, mental health, and loss of employment, attitudes toward vaccines, and their willingness to engage in risk-reduction behaviors like social distancing.
The influence of the Coronavirus on the lives of gay, lesbian, transgender, and bisexual people in the United States[3]. Because of this, it has been determined that LGBT persons are more likely to develop COVID-19 and suffer the financial effects of the epidemic. According to Dawson et al. (2021 n.p), Non-LGBT persons were not as badly harmed by COVID-19 in certain places. More LGBT persons than the general population report having lost a job in the COVID-19 period, compared to the general population. As many as 74% of lesbians and gays, compared to only 49% of non-LGBT persons, are concerned about the harmful impact of Coronavirus on their mental health. Vaccination rates for LGBT individuals and non-LGBT people are comparable. However, the significant difference is that they perceive vaccination as a duty to protect their loved ones, whereas the non-LBGT view vaccination as a personal decision.
Comparing LGBTQ individuals to heterosexual adults, a greater proportion of the LGBT have received at least one dosage of the COVID-19 vaccine. According to the nationally representative telephone survey report, the vaccination is lowest among the back and Hispanic communities. On the other hand, White homosexual males have a higher response rate than Hispanic gay men and women, at 94.1%. The only problem that will raise the vaccination rates month the ethnic groups is that the significance of COVID-19 to the Hispanic and black populations should be made known to the general public. As a result, more LGBT persons will come out and be vaccinated. Many LGBT persons do not have health insurance, and those who do have health insurance face extra obstacles.
Queer research found that it is riskier to be treated under the umbrella of LGBTQ. This indicates that people from these communities are being bullied and discriminated against every day in every activity they engage with non-LGBT persons[4]. Therefore, as many people contract COVID-19, the access to care for these people is poor. That is why few black and Hispanic gay people turn out for vaccination. They are afraid that they will be treated twice harder as their fellow ethnic groups. Sometimes it is hard for these people to be accepted in their community. Racial discrimination against LGBT people may lead to stress and depression, and suicide. The most important conclusion of the study is that race and ethnicity play a vital role in understanding the pandemic’s impact on LGBT communities. Because of this, LGBT people of color are more likely than non-LGBT Whites to be negatively affected by COVID-19, according to multiple measures. Non-LGBT Whites are less likely to practice public health measures such as social distancing and face mask use than LGBT Whites.
Increased long-term unemployment and heightened housing instability have exacerbated socioeconomic inequality for the LGBTQ+ community due to COVID-19. Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and questioning (LGBTQ+) persons have lower median incomes and greater poverty rates than cisgender heterosexuals. Transgender males have the highest poverty rates of all—one out of every five individuals who identify as LGBTQ+ is considered poor. More than half of the state’s LGBTQ+ population is chronically underemployed or homeless.
Employment rates in LGBTQ+ populations are greater, impacting health outcomes for people who get treatment via employer-sponsored insurance plans. More than twice as many LGBTQ+ individuals of color encounter prejudice when looking for jobs as white LGBTQ+ people. About 40% of LGBTQ+ persons in the US work in businesses that are directly or indirectly affected by the epidemic, according to the Human Rights Campaign Foundation (HRCF)[5]. COVID-19 exposure poses a considerable risk of illness and financial hardship for front-line or vital personnel. One out of every three LGBTQ+ persons, compared to one out of every five non-LGBTQ+ adults, reported a decrease in hours worked due to the epidemic. In the United States, paid sick leave is not a right guaranteed by the federal government for LGBTQ+ workers.
The right to secure and appropriate housing is often denied to LGBTQ+ individuals. It is very difficult for transgender persons to get into emergency shelters (Reid et al. 2020, p. 1105). As a result of regulatory changes that allow sex-segregated shelters to discriminate against transgender persons, many people in shelters have faced violence, abuse, exploitation, and prejudice in addition to acceptance and respect. More than one-third of the nation’s homeless kids [44] identify as LGBTQ+. It has been difficult for LGBTQ+ kids in the COVID-19 epidemic to cope with prejudice and violence without the safety nets provided by their communities. LGBTQ+ people’s homelessness and poverty are closely linked to the mass imprisonment of LGBTQ+ individuals. People who lack adequate accommodation are often imprisoned for minor offenses such as loitering on the sidewalk, driving an enormous cart or digging through the rubbish at an alarmingly high rate. In addition, those jailed experienced discrimination while looking for jobs and gaining admission to educational institutions.
In conclusion, poverty and homelessness result from a lack of jobs and education. This shows that oppression is a systemic problem. Constructs like imprisonment (homelessness) and poverty (food insecurity) are linked to many social and cultural exclusions. It’s practically hard to break free of this web of tyranny created by these intertwined social positions. Healthcare reform must be linked with comprehensive reforms in our social structures to achieve health fairness, as these determinants are redundant and ubiquitous. Despite the pandemic affecting everyone in the states, race discrimination has been a problem. People should confront Discrimination against LGBT people since they require being treated nicely. Education is the most effective way that people will understand the importance of vaccines.
Bibliography
Dawson, Lindsey, Ashley Kirzinger, and Jennifer Kates. “The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on LGBT people.” San Francisco, CA: The Kaiser Family Foundation (2021).
Gil, Raul Macias, Tracey Freeman, Trini Mathew, Ravina Kullar, Anais Ovalle, Don Nguyen, Angélica Kottkamp, Jin Poon, Jasmine Marcelin, and Talia H. Swartz. “The LGBTQ+ communities and the COVID-19 pandemic: a call to break the cycle of structural barriers.” The Journal of infectious diseases (2021).
Krause, Kristen D. “Implications of the COVID-19 Pandemic on LGBTQ Communities.” Journal of Public Health Management and Practice 27 (2021): S69-S71.
Kuehn, Bridget M. “Racial and Ethnic, Gender Disparities Seen in LGBT COVID-19 Vaccination Rates.” JAMA 327, no. 10 (2022): 910-910.
Reid, Graeme, and Samuel Ritholtz. “A queer approach to understanding LGBT vulnerability during the COVID-19 pandemic.” Politics & Gender 16, no. 4 (2020): 1101-1109.
[1] Kuehn, Bridget M. “Racial and Ethnic, Gender Disparities Seen in LGBT COVID-19 Vaccination Rates.” JAMA 327, no. 10 (2022): 910-910.
[2] Krause, Kristen D. “Implications of the COVID-19 Pandemic on LGBTQ Communities.” Journal of Public Health Management and Practice 27 (2021): S69-S71.
[3] Dawson, Lindsey, Ashley Kirzinger, and Jennifer Kates. “The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on LGBT people.” San Francisco, CA: The Kaiser Family Foundation (2021).
[4] Gil, Raul Macias, Tracey Freeman, Trini Mathew, Ravina Kullar, Anais Ovalle, Don Nguyen, Angélica Kottkamp, Jin Poon, Jasmine Marcelin, and Talia H. Swartz. “The LGBTQ+ communities and the COVID-19 pandemic: a call to break the cycle of structural barriers.” The Journal of infectious diseases (2021).
[5] Reid, Graeme, and Samuel Ritholtz. “A queer approach to understanding LGBT vulnerability during the COVID-19 pandemic.” Politics & Gender 16, no. 4 (2020): 1101-1109.
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