COVID-19 Pandemic and the Plight of the Elderly: Nordic Experiences

Tuija Takala*

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticleScientificpeer-review

68 Downloads (Pure)

Abstract

Part of the rationale behind public health measures is protecting the vulnerable. One of the groups most vulnerable to COVID-19 are the elderly and, consequently, many countries adopted public health measures that aimed to keep the elderly safe. The effectiveness and the consequences of those measures, however, leaves a lot to be desired. In my article, I will look at the steps that the Nordic countries took to protect their elderly and assess their success. I will further analyze those in the light of standard ethical theories. Public health crises often call for choices between two evils. Selecting patients for intensive care is one such choice, and again, it seems that for the elderly, the outcome was less than favorable. Overall, from the point of view of ethics, many countries failed miserably when it came to the treatment of the elderly. I will end my paper by discussing the lessons we can learn from the COVID-19 pandemic and suggests measures we need to take to offer genuine respect for the rights of the elderly.

Original languageEnglish
Article number103
JournalPhilosophies
Volume7
Issue number5
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Oct 2022
MoE publication typeA1 Journal article-refereed

Keywords

  • COVID-19
  • elderly
  • ethics
  • human rights
  • pandemic
  • priorisation
  • scarcity
  • triage
  • vulnerable

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'COVID-19 Pandemic and the Plight of the Elderly: Nordic Experiences'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this