California didn’t thoroughly follow Gov. Newsom’s law to track COVID among LGBTQ

A few months ago, Governor Gavin Newsom signed a law that requires county health officers in California to track how the pandemic is affecting the LGBTQ community. But it’s not really being enforced. And if that data is collected at all, it’s spotty and inconsistent.

LGBTQ advocates say their community is vulnerable to underlying health problems, like HIV, that could be exacerbated by COVID. That prompted the bill’s author, State Senator Scott Wiener, to send a letter to the California Department of Public Health this week, asking officials to do a better job of collecting this data right away.