(Courtesy photo)
More than any other demographic group, senior citizens have been hit hardest by the pandemic, being the most vulnerable to the COVID-19 virus and recording the most hospitalizations and deaths. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report that 8 of 10 deaths from COVID were people 65 and older.
Adding to the pain and death the pandemic has brought to seniors are psychological and social effects that for many have produced emotional misery and turmoil through isolation that closed outlets to communal life. Many, but not all.
Dr. Ellen Whyte, the director of geriatric psychiatry outpatient services for University of Pittsburgh’s Western Psychiatric Hospital, told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, that although the issue is real for seniors’ well-being, it’s a mistake to generalize about any group.