ABSTRACT
This chapter examines how ageism increased when COVID-19 struck. It shows that an effective response to the pandemic was impeded both by an entrenched ageism in medicine as well as in society at large. In the wake of COVID-19, older adults were constructed as a “risk group” because of their comorbid conditions and high case fatality rate. Unfortunately, despite such construction, physicians failed to take stock of “atypical presentations” which clouded diagnosis, identification and management. It also obscured the heterogeneity within the group resulting in aggressive treatment without consent for some, and deprivation of compassionate end-of-life care for others. As hospitals crumbled due to an excessive surge in patients, a debate ensued on the possible use of the age construct for rationing resources. Such age-based rationing invited objections from different quarters and may be traced to past practices of medicalization of old age. During COVID-19, although ageism reared its ugly head again, several community initiatives and projects did have a positive influence.
