LGBTQ+ people face 'starkly' higher Covid risk: 'Needs aren't being met'

Pandemic worsens health gap fueled by barriers to care and underlying conditions

Queer and transgender people across the US have been more vulnerable to contracting and dying of Covid-19 than their straight, cisgender counterparts, several new studies have found, with barriers to medical care and high rates of underlying conditions exacerbating the pandemic's toll.

Much about the impact of the coronavirus pandemic on LGBTQ+ Americans remains unknown. Few national surveys on Covid-19 ask people about their sexual orientation or gender identity; it's unclear how many LGBTQ+ people have contracted coronavirus, or how many have succumbed to it.