KHN/JAHF Event Recording: The Long Shadow of Covid - Older People and the Ongoing Pandemic
Kaiser Health News (KHN) and The John A. Hartford Foundation (JAHF) held a web event on October 11, "The Long Shadow of Covid: Older People and the Ongoing Pandemic."
The covid-19 pandemic continues to cast a long shadow over the lives of older adults and their family caregivers in the United States, even as many Americans resolve to move on and resume normal activities. Millions of older adults have lost loved ones or suffered declines in their health during the pandemic. Many are struggling with ongoing grief or the disabling effects of long covid. And anxiety, depression and social isolation remain ongoing threats to mental health.
KHN and JAHF explored these questions and more during the event:
- Is it over?
- Are ongoing precautions warranted?
- Should older adults get boosters?
- Should they continue to wear masks, and under what circumstances?
- What kinds of social interactions are safe and which may not be?
- How can older adults and their family caregivers best protect themselves in the months ahead, including over the holidays?
Judith Graham, KHN’s Navigating Aging columnist, moderated the discussion among a panel with a wide range of expertise, including geriatric care, mental health care, social services, long covid, infectious disease, and academic research on older adults during covid.
Rani Snyder, Vice President, Program at JAHF gave introductory remarks. The panel included:
- Dr. Sharon Brangman is the distinguished service professor of Geriatrics Medicine, SUNY Upstate University Hospital. Her expertise includes care for older adults with Alzheimer’s and dementia and cultural competence for seniors of varied racial and ethnic backgrounds.
- Kathryn Haslanger runs JASA, one of New York City’s largest social service agencies, serving more than 40,000 older adults. She has focused her career on health access for elderly, disabled and low-income people.
- Jessica Kelley is a sociologist at Case Western University, with a focus on health disparities. She is the editor in chief of Journal of Gerontology: Social Sciences, which has published extensively on covid and older adults.
- Dr. Eran Metzger is head of geriatric psychiatry at Hebrew Senior Life which provides healthcare and housing services to seniors throughout the Boston metropolitan area and is affiliated with Harvard Medical School.
- Dr. Céline Gounder is an epidemiologist and infectious disease specialist. She is a senior fellow and editor-at-large for public health at KHN.
- Richard Gard was a lecturer in music at Yale before he was hospitalized in intensive care after contracting covid in March 2020. Now a long-covid patient, he’s retired from teaching. He is featured in this Judith Graham story.
Watch the recording.
Go to KHN's Aging articles.
Learn more about JAHF's support.