The COVID-19 pandemic has made it clearer than ever which workers are truly essential. Doctors, nurses, and other healthcare workers put themselves on the line despite widespread equipment shortages and a high risk of contracting the illness themselves. This pandemic is arguably harder on medical workers than anyone — yet they continue to show up, day after day, to help protect the rest of us.
It feels impossible to ever truly repay medical workers for everything they do for us. But we can start by saying thank you to our queer family on the frontlines.
To all 8 of these queer doctors and nurses from all around the world: THANK YOU.
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Lesbian doctor Greta McLahlan of Tooting, London made headlines when she documented her own coronavirus symptoms with a Twitter thread. She and her wife both came down with the illness at the same time. With so much confusing misinformation going around about a disease that researchers are still learning to understand, McLachlan wanted to “reassure and inform” the public about what the virus is actually like, as she told PinkNews.
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Amanda and Tori are a married couple who both work as travel nurses together. In one recent post, they reflected on how tough it is to go to work together right now — they each want to protect each other, but they can’t. “Every day feels like walking into a war zone where the enemy is invisible and all you can do is wait and hope it didn’t get to her today,” they wrote.
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For this queer nurse, the message is simple: “We stay at work for you. Please stay at home for us.”
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A Canadian nurse took time to share a set of guidelines about COVID-19 with her followers, reminding folks when to wear masks, how to keep a safe distance, and not to use this virus as an excuse for racism because “viruses don’t see color.”
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Dr. Leo Moore of the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health is helping the LGBTQ+ community weather the pandemic by arming folks with as much information as possible. “I am always worried about how information is getting back to marginalized people, but more, how this was going to affect queer/trans people of color, the homeless and the undocumented,” Moore told Grindr.
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From Vienna, Austria, nurse Richard Christian reassured people that as long as they stayed home, they needn’t worry too much. If you do get sick, you’re definitely in good hands with this team.
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Seattle-based ER nurse Chad Rankin echoed this sentiment, advising people not to panic because “ER nurses have your back.” But also, he asks people to stop stealing (!!!) gloves, masks, and hand sanitizers from hospitals, as medical workers are the ones who need these supplies the most.
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Luciano Ricciardo, a gay nurse in Buenos Aires, Argentina, took a humorous approach to the stay-at-home directive with this sign, which says, “Stay at home and don’t mess around” in Spanish.
Remember, the most important way to thank medical workers is to follow their instructions and STAY HOME.
