Over 70s

I wish the Government (Scottish and UK) would stop lumping every 70+ year old into the same category. Very many over 70s are fit and healthy but all are being considered "vulnerable". People who are 69+ and fit and healthy (some very much more so than those in their 40s and 50s) reach the next milestone birthday and immediately become "vulnerable". 'One size fits all' doesn't work in this instance.

Why the contribution is important

It sounds as though when the lockdown is eased all over 70s could be omitted and have to lockdown indefinitely. This is very demotivating and could lead to fit and healthy over 70s having mental health problems.

by AliMacDonald01 on May 08, 2020 at 09:55AM

Current Rating

Average rating: 4.6
Based on: 13 votes

Comments

  • Posted by GJBB May 08, 2020 at 10:03

    As a 69 year old , BMI 25, who normally walks 1 or 2 hours a day with my dog in the countryside, I feel less at risk than the obese who fill their trolleys with chips and junk food. Let me be fesponsible for the risks I expose myself to.

  • Posted by AlisonChandler May 08, 2020 at 10:10

    Agree.

  • Posted by seventyplus May 08, 2020 at 10:16

    Of course 70, or any particular age, is a very rough test, which captures many fit people and doesn't capture many unfit people. But if - as the figures suggest - the fatality rate from Covid-19 is very much higher among over-70s than among younger people, and given that it would not be practicable to try to identify the fitter over-70s who are not at risk, it's reasonable to ask the over-70s to accept this restriction. This is not just for their sake, but for the sake of all: over-70s who become infected are, statistically, much more likely to need hospitalisation, and thus to increase the burden on the NHS; we owe it to others to accept some continuing restrictions.

  • Posted by Yasmina May 08, 2020 at 10:32

    Rubbish!!!

  • Posted by Yasmina May 08, 2020 at 10:34

    Rubbish!!! To sevenyplus comments.

  • Posted by ChaiApplePal May 08, 2020 at 11:06

    People over 70 are human beings with their own minds. They should be a able to assess their own circumstances and risks, and make their own choices...not be kept under house arrest. Lifting over 70s restrictions doesn't mean they'll be forced to go outside their home, they can still choose to stay home, but 'choice' is very important for mental and emotional well being.

  • Posted by winifred May 08, 2020 at 11:08

    I agree with Yasmina. It has now been possible to identify the people most at risk, who have been notified and advised to shield at home for 12 weeks. It should also be possible to identify the low-risk over-70's and let us resume some aspect of normality in our lives. Most of us are responsible and law-abiding citizens, and quite capable of assessing our own health and deciding what is appropriate for us. If our mental health suffers as a result of prolonged lockdown, as it almost inevitably will, we may never recover (unlike younger people who have time to do so) and will end up being a burden on the state for other reasons than the virus, and perhaps for years.

  • Posted by grussell May 08, 2020 at 13:29

    One reason why the death rate among over 70s is higher than for younger age groups is that the over 70s include a much higher proportion of people with serious underlying medical conditions. The statistical analysis should be carried out separately for people with and without underlying conditions.

  • Posted by activeandvibrant May 10, 2020 at 12:53

    Yes. I too am sick fed up of ageist policies. We are not quite in over 70s section but do have friends who are. We resent the label “elderly” with the negative connotations that brings and hate OAP for same reason. Senior citizen As used in US and Canada is a much better descriptor. We are not vulnerable /frail/useless/worthless and it is unfair and unethical to lump us all as being so. We lead an extremely active life - travelling exercise classes /cycling (husband) /golfing /hillwalking /gardening (we have a huge labour intensive garden which we love) participating in cultural activities eating out/socialising together and with friends Volunteer as guide in local museum meeting people from all over the world etc etc. We also put a lot of money into the economy through our activities. We are healthy vibrant and very much alive living until recently an active happy and fulfilling life in retrial. We are struggling badly with this incarceration. The only thing giving us any hope at all was that we thought it temporary. Any suggestion that incarceration would continue would literally finish us off. We do not recognise ourselves as anything other than valuable lively autonomous individuals expecting to live well for our remaining years. Attempts to incarcerate us for no reason other than chronology is not acceptable and we will not accept it.
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