Blogs, News and Issue Briefs on coronavirus Covid-19

Social Protection and COVID-19: Policy Responses Must Include Older People

"Around the world, social protection enables people to live with dignity by providing access to health services, income, housing, and food. For older people facing poverty or serious illness, these programs can mean life or death." Read full blog by Ben F. Belton, Director, Global Partner Engagement, AARP International and Florian Juergens, Global Social Protection Advisor, HelpAge International. November 2, 2020

COVID-19 And The Future Of Aging: Prospects For Older Workers

This article is the third in a weekly joint series on Covid-19 and the Future of Aging from the Milken Institute Center for the Future of Aging and Next Avenue. The articles are Q and As with thought leaders in fields ranging from health care to retirement planning to work to intergenerational relationships. Read full interview with Scott Frisch, Chief Operating Officer, AARP October 25, 2020

Japan has the world’s oldest population. Yet it dodged a coronavirus crisis at elder-care facilities.

"Japan has recorded 1,225 deaths from covid-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus, compared with about 180,000 in the United States. In Japan, 14 percent of the deaths have been in elder-care facilities. That is compared with more than 40 percent in the United States, despite a lower proportion of U.S. seniors living in nursing homes." Read full article from the Washington Post. August 30, 2020

COVID-19 has laid bare the cracks in long-term care. Here's how to fix them

With older adults and care workers in long term care facilities disproportionately affected by the coronavirus, AARP Chief Public Policy Officer Debra Whitman highlights what actions we must take now to prevent further spread and improve the system for future generations. Read full World Economic Forum blog. August 25, 2020

Combating Coronavirus through Service: The Many Benefits of Volunteering and National Service at Any Age

The COVID-19 pandemic has increased the need for help, and volunteers of all ages have answered the call to service. Volunteering allows people to serve their communities, while also improving their skills, health, and even longevity. Read full AARP Thinking Policy blog by Joo Yeoun Suh and Erwin Tan. August 3, 2020

Preventing and managing COVID-19 across long-term care services

This policy brief provides 11 policy objectives and key action points to prevent and manage COVID-19 across long-term care. Read full policy brief by WHO. July 24, 2020.

Lessons from 6 countries on how to end coronavirus lockdowns

After weeks of lockdown, many countries are considering how to start easing the restrictions they put in place to stem the spread of the coronavirus. Each country is likely to take its own approach to that opening, but a review of how different countries have handled the outbreak offers ways to assess how prepared those countries are to end their lockdowns. Read full article from Business Insider. May 12, 2020

Uruguay Emerges as a Rare Pandemic Winner in Latin America

"...despite sharing a border with Brazil, the country second-worst-hit by COVID-19, this small nation is managing to successfully combat a virus that has brought global giants to their knees." Read full article by Foreign Policy. July 21, 2020.

Bossa Older: Trends and lessons from Brazil and its elderly for better social isolation policies

Given the worldwide dimension of the new coronavirus (COVID-19) crisis and its diverse social and economic impacts, the challenge is to think globally in order to act locally. Brazil is a country of continental dimensions and its inequality levels make the country a sort of small world. The lessons taken here will be useful for both rich and poor countries. Read full article from the OECD. June 23, 2020

Coronavirus and the social impacts on older people in Great Britain

Among older people (aged 60 years and over) who were worried about the effect the coronavirus (COVID-19) was having on their lives, their main concerns were being unable to make plans in general (64.5%), personal travel plans such as holidays (53.4%) and their own well-being (51.4%). Read full article by the UK Office of National Statistics (ONS). June 22, 2020.

An Alarming Trend: The toll of COVID-19 on older adults

The pandemic’s impact on the world has been staggering, but it’s older adults that are facing greater rates of fatality. Read full OECD blog by Debra Whitman, Executive Vice President and Chief Public Policy Officer, AARP. June 22, 2020

Why are Africa's coronavirus successes being overlooked?

Examples of innovation that aren’t getting the fanfare they would do if they emerged from Europe or the US are explored in this article by The Guardian. May 15, 2020.

At Northwestern, members of a tightknit group of veteran ICU nurses, age 58 and up, are signing on for COVID-19 duty. Meet the ‘Old Dolls.’

The “Old Dolls,” a group of ICU nurses in their 50s and older, were a local legend at Northwestern even before COVID-19 struck. And in the days that followed, the 10 who remain in the ICU after 30 years or more have continued to care for some of the city’s sickest patients despite being in an age bracket that puts them at added risk from the virus. Read full article from the Chicago Tribune, May 12, 2020.

People of all ages need to build together a post-pandemic world designed for everyone and for the planet

"We must draw the lessons from the COVID-19 crisis lockdown and design together new ways to produce and consume the goods and services that people around the globe need for a healthy and decent life, now and in the future." Read full statement from AGE Platform Europe, April 28, 2020

The coronavirus epidemic shows why it’s so important to get it right when we talk about ageing

In light of the COVID-19 outbreak, articles that celebrate a ‘cull’ of the elderly remind us to think more carefully about our attitudes towards ageing. Read full article by Dr. Anna Dixon, Chief Executive, Centre for Ageing Better. March 31, 2020.

COVID-19: Implications for business

Read latest perspectives on the coronavirus outbreak, the twin threats to lives and livelihoods, and how organizations can prepare for the next normal - by McKinsey & Company, May 13, 2020

Covid-19: What Next for Employers?

There are some really clear messages for employers that may help ensure employees are safe and that could help organisations take some initial steps in trying to re-establish their day-to-day working. Read full blog by Ed Griffin, Director of HR Consultancy and Research, Institute for Employment Studies (IES), May 12, 2020.

Telehealth could be a game-changer in the fight against COVID-19. Here’s why

Some have characterized recent developments as collapsing 10 years of healthcare innovation into two months - and nowhere has the rate of change been as dramatic as the area of telehealth. Read full World Economic Forum Covid Action Platform blog, May 1, 2020.

Africa’s COVID-19 war: A mixed bag of wins and losses

The slow spread in the continent gave false hope that Africa and its people would be spared the worst of the pandemic. But when it started to spread, the reality sunk in fast. Read full article from PUNCH - Nigeria's most widely read newspaper, May 1, 2020.

Solutions from Around the World: Tackling Loneliness and Social Isolation During COVID-19

As it also tackles the public health and economic impact of COVID-19, the United States can fight loneliness during the pandemic by looking to strategies used internationally.
Read full blog by The Commonwealth Fund, April 30, 2020.

COVID-19 and Older Adults: Think (and Learn) Globally; Act (and Innovate) Locally

Across the globe, many communities—both local and virtual—are innovating out of necessity to support older adults and immunocompromised people as they cope with the COVID-19 pandemic. Read full AARP Thinking Policy blog by Stephanie Firestone and Ben Belton, April 29, 2020.
Languages: English, Spanish, Chinese., Vietnamese, Korean

How to protect Asia’s rapidly aging population from COVID-19

The COVID-19 pandemic highlights the need to strengthen programs and policies affecting older persons both in times of crisis and afterward. Read full blog by the Asian Development Bank, April 2020

Tackling Inequality in Cities is Essential for Fighting COVID-19

The COVID-19 pandemic has created a disruptive new normal for everyone through shelter-in-place orders and social distancing guidelines. But for the billions of urban poor, these guidelines aren’t just burdensome; they’re essentially impossible. Read full blog from the World Resources Institute, April 14, 2020

The Countries That Are Succeeding at Flattening the Curve

Lessons from Taiwan, Canada, South Korea, Georgia, and Iceland show that the coronavirus can be stopped. Read full article from the FP, April 2, 2020

What to Put in a Covid-19 Emergency Home-Care Kit

Most people who get sick from the coronavirus won’t be going to the hospital. Here’s what doctors say you need to be ready at home. Read article from The Wall Street Journal, April 2, 2020.

Monitoring the Market: Investment Actions Today Can Hurt Tomorrow’s Retirement Security

Today’s financial markets are frightening. Here are a few thoughts to help you weather this crisis and come out stronger than before. Read full AARP Thinking Policy blog by Ramsey Alwin and David John, April 1, 2020
Language(s): English, Spanish, Chinese

Covid-19 Demands Attention to Mental Health, too

It’s completely normal to feel anxiety and stress during the COVID-19 pandemic, but taking care of your emotional health will help protect you and your family. Read full AARP Thinking Policy blog by Elizabeth Carter and Erwin Tan, March 30, 2020.
Language(s): English, Spanish, Chinese

11 simple ways to care for each other during the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic

Here are eleven ways people are talking about caring for one another while staying safe as our family, friends, colleagues and neighbours navigate COVID-19. Read artcle by Greenpeace International, March 20, 2020.

Human Rights Dimensions of COVID-19 Response

This document provides an overview of human rights concerns posed by the coronavirus outbreak, drawing on examples of government responses to date, and recommends ways governments and other actors can respect human rights in their response. Read article by Human Rights Watch, March 19, 2020.

Coronavirus and Older Americans: What Families Should Discuss

Here are six actions you can take to prepare and protect yourself and your family from coronavirus. Read full AARP Thinking Policy blog by Dr. Erwin Tan, March 9, 2020

Language(s): English, Spanish, Chinese., Vietnamese, Korean

GUIDANCE AND ADVICE

An Alarming Trend: The toll of COVID-19 on older adults