News-Medical.Net – Older adults’ social patterns shift post-pandemic, study finds
“The pandemic is not over for a lot of folks,” said Jessica Finlay, an assistant professor of geography whose findings are revealed in a series of new papers. “Some people feel left behind.” The study comes amid what the U.S. Surgeon General recently called an ‘epidemic of loneliness’ in which older adults-; especially those who are immune compromised or have disabilities-; are particularly vulnerable.
My problem isn’t loneliness, it’s having my rights abridged.
I’m busy with my life — I have a spouse, 2 cats, several mystery snails, I’m an artist and photographer, and I like the outdoors. I have plenty going on.
The problem I have is that I can’t reliably access healthcare without risking getting infectious diseases from unmasked healthcare workers because there’s a lack of ethical patient safety standards enforced in healthcare settings.
Let alone safely engage in essential and non-essential community, business, education, and work opportunities. I miss going to the symphony, but I don’t miss going to restaurants at all. Some things have been made inconvenient or unattractive, though some things have become more convenient, like shopping. And sadly, in the U.S. there are other reasons to avoid crowded locations beyond just the unmitigated infectious disease threat, and even worse — there are those lobbying with PR to have nobody react to mass violence either.
At least this article is based in actual data collection from real people, and not just the vibes of some journalist in Milford, PA who’s decided to trust the unmasked anti-vaxxers.
And for pity’s sake, once more, this time with feeling, stop saying post-pandemic! The truth is, we’re not post-pandemic, and the evidence is everywhere. They wouldn’t keep doing studies and writing articles hand-wringing about it if it was over.
