Gay and lesbian adults report high COVID-19 vaccine coverage
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Gay and lesbian adults in the United States reported higher levels of COVID-19 vaccination and vaccine confidence than heterosexual adults, according to a new study published in MMWR.
Authors A.D. McNaghten, PhD, MPH, a branch chief in the CDC’s Division of HIV Prevention, and colleagues said LGBT people are at an increased risk for severe COVID-19 illness because of a higher prevalence of comorbidities.
McNaghten and colleagues analyzed data from 143,476 respondents to a cell phone survey of adults from Aug. 29 to Oct. 3 last year to evaluate COVID-19 vaccine coverage and confidence rates among LGBT adults. Among the respondents, 2.7% identified as gay or lesbian, 3.1% as bisexual and 3.9% as transgender or nonbinary.
A higher proportion of gay or lesbian adults (85.4%) reported receiving at least one dose of COVID-19 vaccine compared with heterosexual (76.3%) or bisexual (76.3%) adults. Gay (88.9%) and bisexual (81.7%) men reported higher levels of coverage with one dose than lesbian (80.5%) or bisexual (74.2%) women.
The responses were similar among transgender or nonbinary adults (75.7%) vs. adults who did not identify as either (76.7%).
In terms of vaccine hesitancy, higher percentages of gay and bisexual men reported that they were completely confident (82.4%) or very confident (76.3%) in the vaccines compared with heterosexual men (63.2%). Likewise, bisexual women (68.1%) were more likely to report vaccine confidence than heterosexual women (64.5%).
“To prevent serious illness, hospitalization, and death, which are more common in unvaccinated persons than in those who have been vaccinated, it is important that all persons in the United States, including those in the LGBT community, stay up to date with recommended COVID-19 vaccinations,” the authors wrote.
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