Data collected last fall indicates that LGBTQQ people — especially LGBTQQ people of color — have been disproportionately affected by the health and economic impacts of COVID-19, according to a new report released by the Williams Institute at UCLA School of Law.

According to the report, among those tested for COVID, an estimated 15 percent of LGBTQ people of color have tested positive for COVID-19, compared to 7 percent of their non-LGBTQ white peers. And LGBTQ people of color are about twice as likely to have been laid off or furloughed from work and to struggle to pay for household goods compared to non-LGBTQ white adults.

Using data from a nationally representative sample of adults collected by Axios-Ipsos between August and December 2020, researchers found that compared to their non-LGBTQ peers, LGBTQ respondents were more likely to report wearing a mask, practicing social distancing and being concerned about getting sick from COVID-19.

Fewer LGBTQ adults than non-LGBTQ adults expressed trust in the federal government to provide accurate information about COVID-19 over the last few months of the Trump administration, and only 28 percent of LGBTQ respondents felt that pharmaceutical companies had their best interest in mind, compared to 41 percent of non-LGBTQ respondents.

Brad Sears, interim director of the Williams Institute and lead author of the report, said, “The impact of the pandemic on the LGBTQ community cannot be fully understood without considering race and ethnicity as well as sexual orientation and gender identity. It will be vital to restoring trust in the institutions that are critical to successfully vaccinating LGBTQ communities, particularly LGBTQ people of color.”

Health impacts

Among those who have tested for COVID-19, positivity rates were similar between LGBTQ people (10 percent) and non-LGBTQ people (9 percent). But LGBTQ people of color (15 percent) were twice as likely to test positive compared to non-LGBTQ white adults (7 percent).

About one-third of LGBTQ people of color personally knew someone who died of COVID-19 compared to one-fifth of white LGBTQ and white non-LGBTQ people.

Economic impacts

LGBTQ respondents were more likely than non-LGBTQ respondents to be laid off (12 percent vs. 8 percent) or furloughed from their jobs (14 percent vs. 10 percent), report problems affording basic household goods (24 percent vs. 17 percent) and report having problems paying their rent or mortgage (20 percent vs. 12 percent).

Both LGBTQ and non-LGBTQ people of color were twice as likely to have been laid off or temporality furloughed from work when compared to non-LGBTQ white adults.

LGBTQ people of color were over twice as likely to report having less ability to pay for household goods in the two weeks before the survey (29 percent vs. 14 percent) and over three times as likely to report being unable to pay their rent or mortgage (26 percent vs. 9 percent) than non-LGBTQ white adults.

Trust

During the final months of the Trump administration, fewer LGBTQ respondents than non-LGBTQ respondents reported trusting the federal government to provide accurate information about COVID-19 (31 percent vs. 38 percent). In contrast, more LGBTQ respondents than non-LGBTQ respondents reported trusting the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (76 percent vs. 70 percent) and national public health officials (74 percent vs. 68 percent) for COVID-19 information.

Approximately 41percent of non-LGBTQ people felt that pharmaceutical companies had their best interest in mind, compared to only 28percent of LGBTQ respondents.

Study author Kerith J. Conron, research director at the institute, noted, “Most government data collection efforts, including those focused on COVID-19, do not include sexual orientation and gender identity measures. This omission hinders efforts to adequately assess and address the needs of LGBTQ populations in COVID-19 recovery efforts.”

Read the full report here.