Open AccessCOVID-19 and Ageism: Has the Pandemic Allowed Prevailing Ageist Attitudes to Go Viral?
Author(s) -
Paul Rooprai,
Neel Mistry
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
university of ottawa journal of medicine
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 2292-6518
pISSN - 2292-650X
DOI - 10.18192/uojm.v11i1.5819
Subject(s) - pandemic , prejudice (legal term) , covid-19 , older people , population , value (mathematics) , perception , medicine , psychology , gerontology , social psychology , environmental health , disease , pathology , machine learning , neuroscience , computer science , infectious disease (medical specialty)
Current perceptions of older adults are often met with prejudice and misconceptions that constitute what has been characterized as ‘ageism’. Rarely are older persons considered indispensable members of the population who deserve our respect and support. While it is unclear if and when this pandemic will end, what is clear is how COVID-19 has unveiled the prevalent ageist attitudes against older people, underscoring an unsettling discourse about age and human worth that has allowed us to easily question the value of older adults. In this commentary, we highlight specific recommendations that can be made to combat ageism during and after the COVID-19 pandemic, with exploration of vaccine administration and inequities across long-term care homes.