LGBTQ community and coronavirus

LGBTQ elders are more socially isolated than their heterosexual peers.

We are all connected. And COVID-19 spreads rapidly through these connections. For all of us to stay healthy and safe, everyone in all of our communities and neighborhoods needs to stay healthy and safe.

But it doesn’t always happen this way. Communities that have experienced discrimination and stigma now or in the past often experience poorer health than other communities. For example, many people in the LGBTQ community have experienced the physical and psychological stress of being rejected by loved ones and discriminated against by community members and by health care providers. This has resulted in a health disparity — overall poorer health in this community when compared to other communities in our state.

This health disparity means that disproportionately more people who identify as LGBTQ have the underlying chronic health conditions that put us at higher risk for getting very sick from COVID-19. People in the LGBTQ community tend to have higher rates of HIV and higher rates of chronic health conditions. They are also 50% more likely to smoke tobacco.

Additionally, LGBTQ elders are more socially isolated than their heterosexual peers, making their risk due to age or health conditions more complicated. COVID-19 may also bring up difficult memories of the early days of the HIV epidemic — loved ones who died, watching a mysterious and deadly virus spread throughout the world. Youth in the LGBTQ community are more likely than other teens to be homeless or currently isolated with unsupportive family members.

To stay safe, if you identify as LGBTQ:

• Be sure to carefully follow social distancing guidelines, especially if you have a chronic health condition.
• Take care of your physical and mental health. Eat nutritious foods, sleep, exercise, meditate. If you smoke, consider cutting back. Any step to reduce smoking can have positive benefits to your long-term health.
• If you need clinical care, make a plan with your health care provider. Are you able to use telemedicine? Do you have 30 days of your needed medications at home?
• Reach out virtually to a friend. Connection is great for our mental health.
• If you are taking PrEP to prevent HIV, and not having sex as part of social distancing means you are not sexually active right now, you can take a break from PrEP, but be sure to plan ahead for when you may become sexually active again.

Practice compassion. Discrimination and stigma keep people from being as healthy as they could be. We are all connected. None of us are as healthy as we could be unless all of us have the opportunity to be healthy.

More Information

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Information in this blog changes rapidly. Check the state’s COVID-19 website for up-to-date and reliable info at coronavirus.wa.gov.

Answers to your questions or concerns about COVID-19 in Washington state may be found at our website. You can also contact our call center at
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