Ageism new threat amid pandemic pain
Community support key to keep older people safe from virus, advocate says
As wave two of the COVID-19 pandemic rages on, people 60 and older — a group disproportionately represented in Ontario deaths — are looking for more supports to avoid becoming infected, one advocate says.
According to the province’s daily epidemiological report, 3,298 people 60 and older have died as of Nov. 19, accounting for 96 per cent of the province’s total deaths. Of those deaths, 2,193 were residing in longterm-care homes.
Of the 3,298 deaths, 904 were people between the ages of 60 and 79, and 2,394 were 80 and older. Though COVID-19 has had a devastating impact on those living in long-term care, the virus’s wide reach is also being felt by those who reside in the community.
About 92 per cent of people 60 and older live in the community rather than congregate settings in Canada, said Laura Tamblyn Watts, CEO of CanAge, a national advocacy organization that “educates, empowers and mobilizes people on the issues that matter most to older Canadians.”
Tamblyn Watts says the concerns are around community transmission to people 60 and older as they go about their daily tasks. “I think what we’re seeing is ageism in action, that there’s been a sense that it’s all right that seniors die of COVID-19,” Tamblyn Watts said.
The more often people in this demographic need to enter the community, the more likely those at high risk have to make the “really terrible choice” between getting things they need or staying home and avoiding outside contacts, she said.
“Older people in the second wave may have fewer supports as people get more used to living with COVID-19. So they have to go into the community in many cases to do things like grocery shopping and getting medication.”
Community support is a must if seniors are to stay protected, Tamblyn Watts said.
“Whether it’s an increased support for grocery delivery, whether it’s extra communitybased wellness checks, whether it’s making sure that we support ... care at home as opposed to home care, older people need to get care in the place that they are and not be exposed to the broader community spread wherever possible.”
She pointed to podiatry, physiotherapy, nursing services and dialysis as procedures that could be broadly supported for people at home instead of requiring folks to leave their homes for treatment.
There needs to “less handwringing, less professions of hearts breaking, and more action in the way that will make the lives of seniors better and safer,” Tamblyn Watts said.
Tanya McKay, 83, said that the threat of becoming infected by COVID-19 has meant she has lost a lot of the joys she found pre-pandemic alongside her husband, Nelson.
“Much of the fun has gone from our lives. We were always socially active, loved to travel, loved to entertain friends, loved to attend cultural events such as concerts and plays,” McKay, who lives in Niagara Falls, told the Star. “All this has been suspended.”
The pandemic has put a damper on any motivation in day-to-day life, McKay said. “We have more time and yet seem to accomplish less. We have to push ourselves mentally. Sometimes we feel ‘why bother?’ ” she said.
She realizes the privilege she and Nelson enjoy: while there is an element of fear and disruption, “we are very fortunate compared to many others as we live in a house with a backyard in a small city with easy access to lovely countryside,” McKay said. “We are both healthy and have never had many worries.”