The Pandemic may have physical effects on the Elderly
The duration of this pandemic has been taxing on the elderly in many aspects of our lives. On February 5th, 2022, in the New York Times article by Paula Span, “The Pandemic Has Made Many Seniors Less Active,” Span discusses a study that shows that the elderly’s physical activity has been dramatically reduced during the pandemic, increasing their susceptibility to injuries. Span offers a thorough analysis of a study that discussed the physical effects of the pandemic on the elderly, including primary accounts from elderly individuals, health experts, and solutions.
The article details the physical struggles of sixty-five year old, Dr. Cindy Myers. Before the pandemic, she partook in more physical activities, such as meeting her friends for lunch and going to lectures and other outings with her wife. However, being forced to work at home to reduce her risk of catching the coronavirus has limited her mobility significantly. As a result, her bones and muscles have become very weak, contributing to many falls she has experienced since the pandemic. Her decrease in mobility is just one of the many cases spreading throughout the elderly per research on which this article is based. The elderly are in desperate need of this movement considering their bodies are not as strong as younger people and need that extra movement they had pre-COVID. As a result, many experts have been worried about the long term the pandemic will have on the physical health of the elderly and seeking ways to reverse the effects. These solutions include engaging in physical activity within the house, such as using a stationary bike and enrolling in fall prevention programs to reduce the likelihood of injuries occurring.
The author’s purpose was to bring awareness to the lesser-known effects of extended quarantine on the elderly, mainly physical problems. For instance, in the article, the author says, “When you’re hospitalized, and you’re older, it takes a long time to get back on your feet,” said Marla Beauchamp, who researches mobility, aging, and chronic disease at McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario. “Covid is still impacting them in significant way months and months later” (Span 2022). This shows how the coronavirus impacts the elderly in many aspects of their lives other than the high mortality rate. Its lingering effects are devastating, which the author wants to get across. The science is presented in the analysis of surveys conducted in 2021 in a specific age range, over 50, which reported many elderly experienced physical problems from this pandemic even without contracting COVID-19. Also, the analysis of experts in this field, such as Dr. Marla Beauchamp, who researches mobility, aging, and chronic disease and has considerable knowledge on how this pandemic affects the elderly in many aspects, provides an expert opinion support the purpose. This expert’s knowledge is then supported by the accounts of seniors experiencing the effects of the quarantine, proving the researchers correct and showing the author is objective in their writing. The audience is medicare companies because the author knows that they can implement systems in their plans to help get seniors into programs such as falling prevention programs free of charge to help reduce injuries they sustain from lack of mobility.
The author demonstrates well that there are more underlying effects this pandemic has explicitly had on the elderly. The accounts of older people such as Dr. Myer and health experts further show that actions need to be done to help reverse the effects of this pandemic. With the help of healthcare programs such as medicare, this deconditioning can be reversed, helping the elderly in the US.
References
Span P. 2022 Feb 5. The Pandemic Has Made Many Seniors Less Active[accessed 2022 Feb 6]. https://www.nytimes.com/2022/02/05/health/covid-elderly-mobility.html
