The response to COVID-19 was ageist, expert says
Although people aged 65 years and older make up more than 80% of deaths caused by COVID-19, younger adults make up the largest portion of cases.
, Associate Editor
The response to the COVID-19 pandemic was inherently ageist and ableist, or discriminatory against people with disabilities, according to Ashton Applewhite, founder of This Chair Rocks.
Initially, the messaging around the pandemic was that the only people who would be seriously impacted were the old and ill – another way to say people with disabilities – Applewhite said this week during a Patient Experience Digital Series webinar, Ageism in the Age of a Pandemic.