Updated December 31, 2020 5:17 p.m. EST
By Liisa Ogburn
Don’t get me wrong. There is a lot to be grateful for as we head into the holidays with two COVID vaccines now available in the US as of today. An estimated 175,000 doses will arrive in NC from Moderna this week and a second batch of vaccines (61,000) from Pfizer are being delivered, too.
There is finally some soft light visible at the end of what has been a very, very long tunnel. Finally, many think, we can better protect our most vulnerable health care workers and seniors at least physically.
But what about their mental health? Already before the pandemic, public health experts identified the loneliness epidemic as the number one public health crisis today among the elderly. The pandemic has only been exacerbated the situation.