LGBT Community (Maximo Clark)
Fact Checked Source:
National LGBT Cancer Network, "Open Letter To LGBT Community About Coronavirus"
On March 11, 2020, the National LGBT Cancer Network published a press release with the signatures of hundreds of organisations and groups to inform the LGBT community about why COVID-19 is a unique danger to the community and what people should do in response.Checking the Facts:
In order to better understand the claims made in this press release and their validity, I did research to verify five facts that the source uses to make its claims.The LGBTQ+ population uses tobacco at rates that are 50% higher than the general population.You might not think this is true, because there isn't a clear reason as to why this happens, but according to the CDC this is true.
COVID-19 is a respiratory illness that has proven particularly harmful to smokersThis fact was interesting to me because I was curious about how the virus worked and how it made the lungs worse. According to the World Health Organization, this is true.
The LGBTQ+ population has higher rates of HIV and cancer, which means a greater number of us may have compromised immune systems, leaving us more vulnerable to COVID-19 infections.This fact is important because these health problems can lead to serious complications from the virus and whether or not people think this is true can impact how they react to the virus. For both HIV and Cancer, this is true.
LGBTQ+ elders are already less likely than their heterosexual and cisgender peers to reach out to health and aging providers, like senior centers, meal programs, and other programs designed to ensure their health and wellness, because they fear discrimination and harassment.This fact is interesting because it connects to the disparities faced in the AIDS pandemic. According to Washington University, the group as a whole faces distrust, but I couldn't find anything specifically about old people.
The devastating impact of COVID-19 on older people – the current mortality rate is at 15% for this population – makes this a huge issue for the LGBTQ+ communities as well.I wanted to look more into this claim because its been touted over and over on the media but nobody links sources to support this. According to an article by BBC news, the death rate was higher among older people but not at 15%.
Analytic Essay:
The Consequences of Discrimination on The LGBT Community
COVID-19 has taken the world by storm, and nearly every person and group of people in the world are being affected by it. All of these groups have different viewpoints on COVID-19, and are affected by it in different ways. An important group in society that is affected by COVID-19 is the LGBT community. After analyzing multiple sources, including an important open letter from many important groups in the LGBT community by the National LGBT Cancer Network (NLCN) it is clear that COVID-19 is an important issue to the community. The LGBT community feels that COVID-19 is an important issue because many members of the community are at high risk for the virus, due to the community facing an increased risk of serious infection, and because many LGBT youth are at a much higher rate of homelessness than the rest of the population, which puts them in a fragile situation.
The LGBT community faces many different factors that makes members of it at a much higher risk of serious infection. Overall, the LGBT community faces much higher rates of preexisting health conditions compared to the population. This is due to higher risks of AIDS and cancer, among other factors. According to the NLCNs Open Letter About Coronavirus and LGBT Communities, the LGBTQ+ population “has higher rates of HIV and cancer” (Scout 2020) compared to the general population, meaning that a greater number of people “may have compromised immune systems, leaving [them] more vulnerable to COVID-19 infections” (Scout 2020). Members of the LGBT community also smoke "at rates that are 50% higher than the general population" (Scout 2020). Since COVID-19 is a repository illness, smokers are hit much harder. All of these factors contribute to why COVID-19 is dangerous for the community.
In addition to higher rates of immunocompromised people, many people in the LGBT community have a greater distrust towards medical centers and health providers. Many LGBT people “are reluctant to seek medical care except in situations that feel urgent – and perhaps not even then” (Scout 2020). Elderly people, who are much more susceptible to the virus, are also “less likely than their heterosexual and cisgender peers to reach out to health and aging providers” (Scout 2020). This reluctance is due to both past and future discrimination. The AIDS crisis was really only a crisis because of the inaction by health providers and the government. During the crsis, despite AIDS taking a "a swift and devastating toll on urban gay communities" (Padamese 2018), the government "blocked congressional appropriations for AIDS-related programmes and impeded the CDC’s attempts to mount prevention campaigns" (Padamese 2018), and even those infected had "little federal help forthcoming" (Padamese 2018). Before HIV/AIDS was named, it was nicknamed the "gay-plauge" (Padamese 2018) by the press. Its clear to see that the AIDS crisis would put distrust in the LGBT people that lived through it. Even now, members of the LGBT community "continue to experience discrimination, unwelcoming attitudes, and lack of understanding from providers and staff in many health care settings" (Scout 2020). With both the AIDS crisis and the current discrimination LGBT people face in mind, it makes sense that many people would distrust health providers. All of these factors combined make the LGBT community overall at a higher risk of more serious infection from the virus.
Another significant factor in the LGBT community that makes it's youth particularly susceptible to COVID-19 is the striking amount of youth that are homeless. According to NBC, LGBT "youth make up a disproportionate number of homeless young people" (Khur 2020) and that they are facing "unique hardships amid the global health crisis" (Khur 2020). Mant of these homeless people rely on centers to live, but "many of the centers are reducing their hours and services or closing their doors completely to protect staff and visitors" (Khur 2020). According to Kate Barnhart, a director of one of these shelters, "The need for services is increasing, and the availability of services is decreasing" (Khur 2020). This is a huge impact on these youth, because their support system is getting weaker in a time where they need it most, and if they end up getting COVID-19 they might have nowhere to turn but the streets.
All of these factors contribute towards the greater seriousness of action members of the LGBT community feel that they need to take in order to ensure the safety of the other members of their community. Homeless shelters for LGBT youth are needing to accept more monetary donations. One organization in Milwaukee claiming that the virus “is a huge expense on the budget, and it's hitting everyone hard right now” (Khur 2020), while asking for donations. At a LGBT health center in San Franciso, medical workers are figuring out "new ways to help people manage their own care from home" (Blum 2020). For daily life, "coronavirus has already upended business as usual" (Blum 2020), with many subcultures such as drag being disrupted. Overall, due to the LGBT community facing much higher risk of serious infection because of previous health conditions and homelessness, the LGBT community has had to have a more serious response to the virus, and is being hit hard.
References
National LGBT Cancer Network. (2020, March 11). Open Letter About Coronavirus To LGBT Communities [Press Release]. Retreived from https://cancer-network.org/coronavirus-2019-lgbtq-info/
This is a primary source from the National LGBT Cancer Network that is an open letter to the LGBT community on how to deal with Coronavirus and why it matters. This source cites a lot of statistics about how the LGBT community is at higher risk of the virus, and suggests actions that members of the community should take to deal with the virus.Kuhr, E. (2020, April 5). Coronavirus pandemic a perfect storm for LGBTQ homeless youth. NBC. Retrieved from https://www.nbcnews.com/feature/nbc-out/coronavirus-pandemic-perfect-storm-lgbtq-homeless-youth-n1176206
This source is a primary/secondary source that describes the problems homeless LGBT youth are facing because of the Coronavirus. It claims that since homeless LGBT youth are in a fragile position due to little funding, and that the virus is making it worse. It interviews a number of homeless LGBT youth and homeless LGBT shelters. LGBT shelters are running out of resources while their need is increasing, which leads to problems.