Classifying all elderly people as ‘vulnerable’ is demeaning

From: Dr Sheila Hopkinson, Chesterfield.

I AM tired of being classed as ‘vulnerable elderly’. I am in my 90th year, I have a chronic lung condition as a result of measles as a child and painful arthritis.

I have had a several bouts of major surgery including open heart surgery. I live alone, my sole companion being an exracing greyhound.

I am pretty independent. I have cleaners who come in regularly to keep the bungalow clean, my washing goes to the local launderette, a local lady keeps the garden tidy and a window cleaner calls every two weeks.

I shop online and also do my banking and business transactions online.

I am a pundit to my friends, telling them what to watch on TV. Addicted to buying books, my current reading is A Short History of Europe by Simon Jenkins.

I went to university for the first time when I retired and got a Doctorate in Political Science at the age of 72 from Birmingham University. I have done numerous OU courses and am currently doing an online course at Cambridge.

As for being told what to do in the hot weather, I would remind people that I travelled through the Suez Canal and across the Red Sea in August on a ship with no air conditioning and no stabilisers. That was hot weather!

To be lumped under the ‘vulnerable elderly’ label is demeaning, and many of my friends think the same.

I may be approaching 90, but I still have my faculties and can think and act like a ‘normal’ person, so please think again.

From: Jerry Diccox, Main Street, Darley.

THE greatest risk of contracting the virus probably now comes from the inconsiderate actions of other people, who you can only do so much to avoid.

This is of course the case in all areas of life: you can be the most careful driver, pedestrian or cyclist and still be killed or injured by a careless driver – and so it is with the virus.

It only takes a too-close encounter, for example when shopping or when being overtaken by other cyclists (both of these occured to me on the same day last week in Masham) to be infected.

What are the careful majority to do to adequately protect themselves from the actions of a minority who think the rules on social distancing are ended, or don’t apply to them, and who clearly think nothing of the welfare of the people they meet?