Covid-19 and Older Persons

Abstract

The basic rights of older persons to adequate health care have been breached in a number of ways during the COVID-19 pandemic including inability to get access to testing and treatment for the virus (e.g., older persons with symptoms of the virus were turned away from hospitals and other care providers and were not transferred from care homes to hospitals when greater levels of care were required following infection), lack of health or other information relating to the pandemic and exclusion from access to scarce medical resources and participation in clinical trials based on their age. Restrictions imposed during the pandemic often included suspension of care and support services that older persons had previously been able to access in their homes and communities. For example, residents and staff members in long-term care facilities were unable to access to personal protective equipment, testing and general information about the pandemic, all of which led to catastrophically bad health outcomes in those facilities. In addition, long periods of isolation due to distancing restrictions imposed during the pandemic exacerbated the adverse impacts of underlying health conditions common among older persons. Many older persons died alone, without palliative and end of life care.