The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recent gave emergency approval to a vaccine that Pfizer-BioNTech developed to prevent the novel coronavirus from causing COVID-19. Based on preliminary data supplied by Pfizer, the FDA concluded that the vaccine “may be effective in preventing COVID-19. The data also support that the known and potential benefits outweigh the […]
Estimates of the number of family members working as unpaid caregivers range from 48 million to 65.7 million, with 53 million being a common approximation. Of those, about 37.1 million family members provide care to someone who is 65 or older. About 30% of Americans in their 50s and early 60s act as family caregivers, while […]
Health authorities discourage social gatherings as a way to slow the spread of the virus that is responsible for COVID-19. Large groups of people in workplaces and schools also increase viral transmission, as governments discovered when newly opened schools closed after witnessing a spike in new COVID-19 cases. In some settings, including nursing homes and […]
Healthy aging means maintaining the functional abilities that enable wellbeing. Functional abilities include the capacity to meet basic needs, to be mobile, to build and maintain relationships, to make decisions, and to feel like a contributing member of society. Factors that contribute to healthy aging include exercise, diet, healthcare, having regular contact with friends and […]
Long-term care facilities are a necessity for many seniors. Assisted-living facilities provide skilled care for seniors who need help getting dressed, bathing, or engaging in other activities of daily living. Seniors who suffer from dementia often need specialized attention that families cannot provide. Nursing homes provide 24-hour healthcare services to seniors who suffer from health […]
The risk of serious illness or death associated with an infection increases with age. The body’s mechanisms that resist infections begin to weaken, on average, at age 50. The risk to seniors associated with SARS-CoV-2 (the coronavirus that causes COVID-19) is primarily associated with a compromised immune system. Fatality rates associated with COVID-19 begin to […]
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recently updated its list of risk factors for developing a serious illness after exposure to the coronavirus. Until that update, the CDC advised the public that individuals who were 65 and over had an elevated risk of suffering severe illness or death from COVID-19. The update reflects […]
Providing senior care and maintaining social distancing may seem like incompatible goals. Some services, whether provided by home health aides or by the staff of a senior living facility, need to be provided in person. A certain amount of physical contact — or at least close proximity — is necessary when seniors need assistance bathing, […]
Scammers have a long history of preying on seniors. The social isolation that seniors are experiencing to avoid contracting COVID-19 has elevated the risk that they will be victimized by fraudulent schemes that target the elderly. Seniors are more likely than others to experience serious symptoms of COVID-19. Concerned seniors are therefore searching the internet […]
As the country reopens and stay-at-home orders are eased, the risk to seniors from COVID-19 may increase. While the curve has flattened in some parts of the country, infected people still inhabit every state. Since a large percentage of individuals who carry the coronavirus have no symptoms — and may never develop symptoms — it […]