An Out Boulder County survey on COVID-19 vaccine reluctance found that lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer respondents feel more hesitant in getting inoculated, compared to people who are not LGBTQ.
Mardi Moore, Out Boulder County’s executive director, said the survey may be the first of its kind in the nation to gather data on LGBTQ peoples’ attitudes toward the vaccine. The survey showed that 17% of respondents who identified as LGTBQ were hesitant or reluctant to take the vaccine, compared to just 9% of non-LGBTQ respondents, according to Out Boulder’s online analysis.
Cisgender LGBTQ individuals assigned as female at birth are the most reluctant about getting the vaccine, the survey showed, with 26% answering “no” or “unsure” when asked if they would get the vaccine. This answer was shared by 18% of transgender respondents assigned a female sex at birth, while only 6% of non-LGBTQ people assigned a female sex at birth were uncertain about getting the vaccine, the analysis said. Women are also more hesitant than men to get the vaccine, results showed, with 18% of people assigned a female sex at birth expressing COVID-19 vaccine reluctance, versus 9% of those assigned a male sex at birth.
The survey, which was available in English and Spanish, was created by research psychologist Kaylin Gray, who serves on Out Boulder County’s board of directors. It was disseminated between Dec. 17 and Jan. 7 through Out Boulder County’s newsletter and social media. Of the 272 people who responded, 21% identified as non-LGTBQ. The survey’s effort was to provide valuable information to Boulder County Public Health and the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment. The survey was shared with both these public health entities.
“One of the big barriers for our community is discrimination that they have faced in health care from people saying ‘We don’t see transpeople here,’ — I’ve heard that recently from someone to misgendering them,” Moore said. “People put off going to the doctor because they don’t want to deal with the discrimination or fear of discrimination.”
Boulder County Public Health officials on Wednesday night discussed ways they could get the vaccine to marginalized community members. This includes plans to create mobile clinics and community clinics, where people could get vaccinated in a place that they feel comfortable. Moore, who likes to refer to the community clinics as vaccination stations, said she believes it would be a beneficial step to getting more LGTBQ people vaccinated.
Lizbeth Mendoza, Boulder County Public Health cultural broker for equity coordination, said that through the Metro Denver Partnership for Health’s Community Ambassador program, Boulder County Public Health has partnered with Out Boulder County. The program’s intent is to advocate for the importance of the COVID-19 and flu vaccines. Among the efforts being discussed between Out Boulder County and public health are safe and comfortable places for vaccine clinics where LGBTQ people could be inoculated.
Mendoza said Boulder County Public Health has seen the survey release by Out Boulder and was able to garner important information from the results.
“One thing we learned is about hesitancy that we see in the community,” Mendoza said. “Through this kind of a study we can understand who (the people who are hesitant) are and how can we approach them. We are hoping that through the collaboration we can deliver information about the safety of the vaccine.”
Angela Simental, Boulder County Public Health bilingual public relations specialist, said one of the county’s obstacles still is the supply of vaccine.
“The vaccine is really limited at this time,” Simental said. “We want to get everyone vaccinated. We are asking the community for patience and as we get more vaccine, we can get more people vaccine.”
Out Boulder County’s recommended actions also called on communities to provide outreach, communication and distribution efforts directed at LGBTQ people. Moore said spreading crucial information, like that the vaccine is free and will be available to everyone, is also important. She added that tracking gender identity and sexual orientation on national and local health forms is also necessary for getting a complete data set.
“We want everyone to be vaccinated no matter of sexual orientation or gender identity,” Moore said. “My job as a director is to make sure they have full access.”
