Journal
JOURNALS OF GERONTOLOGY SERIES B-PSYCHOLOGICAL SCIENCES AND SOCIAL SCIENCES
Volume 76, Issue 4, Pages E206-E212Publisher
OXFORD UNIV PRESS INC
DOI: 10.1093/geronb/gbaa102
Keywords
Aged care policies; Age segregation; Covid-19; Herd immunity; Stereotyping
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During the pandemic, public responses in Australia, the United Kingdom, and the United States exhibited ageism, with older adults being seen as a problem and facing discrimination. Policies banning visits to aged care homes sparked controversy, while the indefinite isolation of older adults was widely accepted.
Objectives: This article compares responses to coronavirus control in Australia, the United Kingdom, and the United States, 3 countries in which public ageism erupted over the social and economic costs of protecting older adults from Covid-19. Methods: Thirty-five (35) newspapers, media websites, and current affairs magazines were sourced for the study: 8 for Australia, 12 for the United Kingdom, and 15 for the United States. Searches were conducted daily from April to June 2020, using key words to identify age-related themes on pandemic control. Results: Despite divergent policies in the 3 countries, ageism took similar forms. Public responses to lockdowns and other measures cast older adults as a problem to be ignored or solved through segregation. Name-calling, blame, and so-be-it reactions toward age vulnerability were commonplace. Policies banning visits to aged care homes angered many relatives and older adults. Indefinite isolation for older adults was widely accepted, especially as a vehicle to end public lockdowns and economic crises. Discussion: Older adults have and will continue to bear the brunt of Covid-19 in terms of social burdens and body counts as the pandemic continues to affect people around the globe. The rhetoric of disposability underscores age discrimination on a broader scale, with blame toward an age cohort considered to have lived past its usefulness for society and to have enriched itself at the expense of future generations.
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