We will be publishing several blogs a week
If you would like to contribute a blog, please email it to t.de-carvalho@uea.ac.uk Please ensure your blog is 1000 words max and relevant to our site. Please include your contact details and affiliation. We will review all blogs and will share any edits with the authors for their approval before publishing.
If you want to email comments about existing blogs, please send them to t.de-carvalho@uea.ac.uk with your full name and affiliation. We will compile and publish these on the site.
Older people in South Africa and excess mortality during the COVID-19 pandemic
Estimates of excess all-cause mortality are the most effective way to assess the impact of COVID-19 mortality on people of all ages, including older adults.
“Older people’s livelihoods, income security and access to social protection during COVID-19 and beyond”, Florian Juergens, Global Advisor – Social Protection, HelpAge International.
COVID-19 disproportionally affects poor and marginalized populations who are more exposed to the virus and have fewer resources to protect themselves. Multidimensional poverty – lack of access to water, undernutrition, and exposure
to air pollution – increases the risk of getting seriously ill from COVID-19 .
A call for WHO and Global Health Agencies to address the exclusion of older people from trials and research in vaccines and health interventions.
Why were older people either absent or only marginally represented in trials of many COVID-19 vaccines? What lessons can we take from this moving forward?
COVID-19 and older people in Mexico City: the response of the city’s Department of Welfare and Social Inclusion [1] (English version)
Mexico City (CDMX) contained just over 9 million inhabitants in 2015 (INEGI, 2019), with a population aged 60 and over of 1.2 million INEGI, 2015). Older people in the city face great challenges in terms of gender equality, education, health, mobility, access to employment, decent work, care, spaces for participation, violence, among many other issues.
Las personas mayores frente al COVID-19 en la Ciudad de México: el papel de la Secretaría de Inclusión y Bienestar Social [1]
En la población de la Ciudad de México (CDMX), en 2015, residían poco más de 9 millones de habitantes (INEGI, 2019), y una población con 60 años y más de 1.2 millones, más de la mitad (57.5%) son mujeres y el resto (42.5%) son hombres (INEGI, 2015). Actualmente cuenta con una de las Constituciones Políticas más avanzadas del país (2017). Sin embargo, las personas mayores enfrentan grandes retos en materia de equidad de género, educación, salud, movilidad, acceso al empleo, al trabajo digno, al cuidado, a espacios de participación, violencias, entre muchos otros, que se recrudecieron a partir de la crisis sanitaria.
UK Civil Society Women’s Alliance: The impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on older women
This note highlights issues faced by older women across the four nations of the United Kingdom during the Covid-19 pandemic, and sets out recommendations on how these should be addressed.
Appropriate strategies for COVID-19 vaccine prioritisation in low and middle-income countries.
By Peter Lloyd-Sherlock,...
COVID deaths among older persons in South Africa have been significantly underestimated
South Africa has experienced the highest burden of COVID-19 mortality in Africa, with 41 797 deaths officially reported as of 27 January 2021. However, the 112,280 excess deaths reported since May 2020 in the South African Medical Research Council (SA MRC) Report on Weekly Deaths demonstrate that the impact of the pandemic has been far greater than official COVID-19 statistics indicate.
COVID-19 vaccine prioritisation in low and middle-income countries: where should older people fit in?
By Peter Lloyd-Sherlock,...