ABSTRACT
This chapter critically analyses the unintended consequences of public health measures on older adults. It goes beyond issues related to morbidity and mortality and draws attention to social isolation, loneliness, anxiety, depression and suicidal ideations among older adults. The image of hospitals as warzones created anxieties among older adults who avoided accessing and receiving healthcare, which, in turn, affected timely treatment. Although Telemedicine eased the situation for some, a digital divide was created leaving many older patients without care because of technological inaccessibility or unreadiness. The chapter also shows that many public health measures like social distancing, use of face masks and hand-washing were not in sync with the needs of older people and compliance became difficult. COVID mitigation efforts did not put adequate importance on physical and neighbourhood contexts. Environmental factors implicated with homelessness, inadequate shelters and poor sanitation created fresh vulnerabilities. A Darwinian struggle for existence ensued among the older refugees, migrants, homeless and the incarcerated. The chapter concludes by showing how public health strategies were not received well in different parts of the world by many social and racial justice organizations, creating a new legal morass.
