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LGBTQ+2S: Vaccinations, Vaccine Trials, and You

9 black or brown skinned health care professionals or researchers

On October 30, 2020, Age Friendly Seattle is sponsoring the third of three Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer, Questioning and Two-Spirit (LGBTQ+2S) panel discussions—this time focused on Black and Indigenous People of Color (BIPOC) and vaccinations. The live online event coincides with Gay Pride events taking place in Orlando, Honolulu, Johannesburg, Amsterdam, and elsewhere.

The Age Friendly Seattle forum is open to LGBTQ+2S people, family, friends, and allies. To join the event, a few minutes before 1 p.m. on Friday, October 30, visit Bit.ly/AgeFriendlyLive or call 206-686-8357 (and then enter code 224 689 164). The event ends at 3:30 p.m. No registration is necessary.

FlyerAccording to a 2019 FDA report on drug trial demographics, current enrollment of BIPOC participants lags behind the general population. We also know that LGBTQ+2S people experience significant disparities in health and health care (see Stanford University’s Pride Study and the University of Washington’s Aging with Pride: National Health, Aging and Sexuality/Gender Study).

The October 30 panel presentation will support enrollment in research studies among the populations disproportionately impacted. I will moderate a conversation with health care professionals from Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, the Seattle Indian Health Board, and UW Harborview, as well as the executive director of a nonprofit community-based organization that advances “Undetectable = Untransmittable” (U=U) to disseminate health information and decrease HIV stigma, who will share experience with BIPOC recruitment and enrollment in vaccine trials and vaccine participation.

Age Friendly Seattle wants to hear from you

Age Friendly Seattle strives to center its work in the community. For that reason, we want to hear from you! In advance of the panel presentation, please e-mail questions you would like panelists to address to Brent.Butler@seattle.gov.

Questions will also be taken near the end of the live event if time permits. Please share this opportunity with your LGBTQ+2S friends, family, and allies.


Contributor Brent Butler manages Age Friendly Seattle, a City of Seattle initiative to make our community a great place to grow up and grow old. For more information about Age Friendly Seattle, visit Seattle.gov/AgeFriendly.

This article originally appeared in the October 2020 issue of AgeWise King County.