Government Strategies To Address the Coronavirus Must Include Targeted Assistance for LGBTQ Communities
“The COVID-19 pandemic has had devastating impacts on the United States’ public health and health care infrastructure. As of January 26, more than 25 million Americans had tested positive for—and more than 415,000 had died of—the coronavirus, while hospitals and health care professionals across the country remain overwhelmed and 2 to 3 million workers have lost their health insurance due to job losses. These crises are compounding existing disparities experienced by LGBTQ people, who already face significant challenges and inequities related to stigma and discrimination in terms of their physical and mental health as well as their ability to access health insurance and health care. In particular, the pandemic is hitting hardest among those LGBTQ people who live at the intersection of multiple identities that have historically been discriminated against, including LGBTQ people of color and those in low-incomehouseholds, many of whom lacked health coverage prior to the pandemic.”