NYT With Covid the elderly are on their own

Crushed

For Older Americans, the Pandemic Is Not Over

Seniors are increasingly left to protect themselves as the rest of the country abandons precautions: “Americans do not agree about the duty to protect others.”

In early December, Aldo Caretti developed a cough and, despite all his precautions, came up positive for Covid on a home test. It took his family a couple of days to persuade Mr. Caretti, never fond of doctors, to go to the emergency room. There, he was sent directly to the intensive care unit.   Mr. Caretti and his wife, Consiglia, both 85, lived quietly in a condo in Plano, Texas. “He liked to read and learn, in English and Italian,” said his son Vic Caretti, 49. “He absolutely adored his three grandchildren.”

Aldo Caretti had encountered some health setbacks last year, including a mild stroke and a serious bout of shingles, but “he recuperated from all that.”   Covid was different. Even on a ventilator, Mr. Caretti struggled to breathe. After 10 days, “he wasn’t getting better,” said Vic Caretti, who flew in from Salt Lake City. “His organs were starting to break down. They said, ‘He’s not going to make it.’”
 

At least, this late in the pandemic, families can be with their loved ones at the end of life. When the family agreed to remove Mr. Caretti from the ventilator and provide comfort care, “he was alert, very aware of what was happening,” his son said. “He was holding everyone’s hand.” He died a few hours later, on Dec. 14.

For older Americans, the pandemic still poses significant dangers. About three-quarters of Covid deaths have occurred in people over 65, with the greatest losses concentrated among those over 75.   In January, the number of Covid-related deaths fell after a holiday spike but nevertheless numbered about 2,100 among those ages 65 to 74, more than 3,500 among 75- to 84-year-olds and nearly 5,000 among those over 85. Those three groups accounted for about 90 percent of the nation’s Covid deaths last month.

Hospital admissions, which have also been dropping, remain more than five times as high for people over 70 than for those in their 50s. Hospitals can endanger older patients even when the conditions that brought them in are successfully treated; the harmful effects of drugs, inactivity, sleep deprivation, delirium and other stresses can take months to recover from — or can land them back in the hospital.

Three years in, the societal answer seems clear: With mask and vaccination mandates mostly ended, testing centers and vaccination clinics closed and the federal public health emergency scheduled to expire in May, older adults are on their own.  “Americans do not agree about the duty to protect others, whether it’s from a virus or gun violence,” Dr. Berlinger said.

  

storycrafter

Thanks for the article, Crushed. Covid is with us. And it IS different from anything we've had to contend with before, including the flu. I'm not surprised by the findings. General society is good at denial and has many blind spots.

piozam13

DH died of COVID two years ago at 76.  He had a DNR - was never put on a ventilator.      I didn't question the treatment he was given.  The only thing I asked of his doctor was that I stay with him.  I was not allowed to go around - except to the cafeteria, so I was with him all the time.   

In hindsight, considering he was beginning Stage 6, what happened was best for him and for me as well. 

Gig Harbor

I guess I have a different thought about Covid and older citizens. I am in the older group at 71. I don’t want the country to have to maintain masks and vaccinations to protect me. I will get vaccinated and wear a mask if I am sick but otherwise I am back to living normally. If I die from Covid that is OK. I have to die from something but please don’t try to get everyone to keep wearing masks to protect me.

Crushed

Gig Harbor wrote:

I guess I have a different thought about Covid and older citizens. I am in the older group at 71. I don’t want the country to have to maintain masks and vaccinations to protect me. I will get vaccinated and wear a mask if I am sick but otherwise I am back to living normally. If I die from Covid that is OK. I have to die from something but please don’t try to get everyone to keep wearing masks to protect me.

Maybe because I was married to a Doctor for whom masks are routine.  Maybe because I have spent my life in public health and safety.  Its not asking much of people

Mint

Spent a little over 40 years helping people to not struggle to breathe.  Wore a mask to protect myself and others at times.  Took care of some very ill people and precautions I took proved out to keep me and my other patients safe all those years.  

Still wear my mask most of time when with other people.  Guess I still have a desire to help myself and others.  Yes I’m tired of wearing them now, also got tired of wearing them at work, but also see it as a small price to pay to help some child or elderly person not lose their caregiver and/or support person.  Honestly too, I hate being sick.  Know more people getting Covid now  than since pandemic started.  They aren’t ending up in hospital or dead but most of them say to me I was so sick.   The younger ones about a week and us older ones 2-3 weeks.  Also have a 86yo mother that depends on me so another reason for me to try and stay as well as I can.

Help another lady 89yo who is in assisted living by bringing her groceries, taking her to appointments if son can’t.  She use to be my neighbor.  She frequently mentions to me that she hopes nothing happens to her son as I will be left with no one.  This is a huge concern for her.  She lost another son a few years ago.  Her son lives in a different state but comes here often.  A lot has been said about children that have lost their caregivers but little has been said about the elderly, elderly who lost theirs.  Children in say their 50’s -70’s died and their parents are still living.  Want to make life easier for someone if I can.  I’m always appreciative of any one who is kind to me and makes life a little easier for me.  We all need each others help at some time.  Each one of us look out a different window.

Rennbird

When did we become so selfish?

JoseyWales

I wrote a nice long post and deleted it.

Just because I am no longer wearing a mask in public doesn't mean I'm selfish.

The disease isn't what it was when it started, and making everyone continue to wear masks is just wrong. I work in an elementary school. Requiring students to wear masks is - imho - child abuse.

MN Chickadee

I would wear a mask in public places for the rest of my life to protect others particularly when covid is at a slow boil like it is now, it is not currently dormant in most areas like it has been at times. It's really not much of a burden. But I'm usually the only one wearing it, except for the random actually sick person. My 80 year old father is healthy but for likely the rest of his life will be at constant risk for meeting the same demise as my mother - dying from covid. 500 Americans are still dying from it every single day and it doesn't have to be this way. It's the 4th leading cause of death in our country.  And we are less prepared for the next pandemic than we were before this one. The next one will not take 100 years to arrive. Our ability, or desire, to protect our vulnerable and elderly must improve.

Crushed

JoseyWales wrote:

I wrote a nice long post and deleted it.

Just because I am no longer wearing a mask in public doesn't mean I'm selfish.

The disease isn't what it was when it started, and making everyone continue to wear masks is just wrong. I work in an elementary school. Requiring students to wear masks is - imho - child abuse.

I have 5 young grandchildren in school  the 4 year old  has a genetic disability She wont go to "school" without a mask on. 
Anything is better than the catholic prison school I went to.   Talk about child abuse

Mint

MNChickadee, Very sorry about your loss of your mother.

Quilting brings calm

I wish that article had discussed the deaths by vaccination status.  Unfortunately there are still many people over 60 who refuse to get vaccinated  

There was indeed a spike around the holidays.  I knew several people that had gotten it for the first time around then.  My spouse was one of them.   Thankfully all of them were vaccinated.  Both of us have had 4 shots each. 

I will admit I no longer wear a mask unless it’s required.  It still is at medical facilities of all types.  I do the following: 

- still avoiding large crowds 

- giving people  lots of personal space, trying not to breathe on them  

    Doubling that if I see someone  with a mask. I assume they have immunity issues   

- washing my hands a lot 

-staying away from public spaces if I am sick 

- when I go to my parents AL, I go directly to their apartment.  I don’t go near the other residents 

ghphotog

It's everyone's right to wear or not wear a mask. We've been down this road of mandates and masks for so long now and it's nothing but a divisive topic. 
If you wear a mask then cudos to you and I'm grateful you care so much about it but please don't put us all on guilt trips if we aren't wearing one.
In your self righteousness If you want to flat out call non-mask wearers murderers as others have then just come out and say it. There are people that truly believe that we are self centered, uncaring, murdering a-holes. They have don't have a clue and nothing is further than from the truth. 
Many of us are completely burned out by these discussions and it if we haven't learned by now that no matter what is said, we have all made up our minds about masks and no amount of bickering will change that.
The last thing I need here are more brutal and ugly discussions about freaking masks to cause a division between us.
Go your own way and believe the "facts" that support your view but don't shame people for not choosing your path. There are "facts" that "prove" both sides of this issue. I'm tired of it.

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Gig Harbor

As a nurse who spent 40 years working in an ED I have taken care of many, many elderly patients. A lot are/were overweight, did not manage their diets and were type 2 diabetics, did not exercise when they were younger and were in terrible physical shape when they aged.  Many drank too much alcohol and some continued to smoke. Almost all would say that they knew they should do better but didn’t seem to want to put the work and effort in to improve their health. Most wanted another medication added to their regimen in hopes that it would be the magic one to save them. I always wore a mask around sick patients and stayed home if I was sick. Those people have the right to wear a mask and should wear one when they are out because of their compromised systems. I definitely don’t plan to wear a mask for the rest of my life when I am out and I am healthy. If I am sick I will stay home and I will wear a mask if I absolutely have to go out.

Crushed

ghphotog wrote:

It's everyone's right to wear or not wear a mask. We've been down this road of mandates and masks for so long now and it's nothing but a divisive topic.

It is only divisive  when  a person makes a claim of a right and anyone who disagrees is Wrong 
  
The study found that countries without face mask mandates experienced significantly higher COVID-19 deaths per million than countries that enacted mask mandates. The study shows that masks provide a supplementary layer of protection that could prevent unnecessary COVID-19 deaths
https://news.worcester.edu/moattari-co-authored-study-finds-mask-mandates-reduce-covid-19-deaths/

its public health    

 

 

 

After the Vaccine, Republicans Became Far More Likely to Die with Covid-19 Than Democrats

A Voice of San Diego analysis of death certificates and public voter files reveals that partisan affiliation was a predictor of one’s likelihood to perish during year two of the pandemic. Those who decline to identify with a party also saw a higher rate of death.

  https://voiceofsandiego.org/2023/01/30/after-the-vaccine-republicans-became-far-more-likely-to-die-with-covid-19-than-democrats/