The Lost Generation

Among the more than 800,000 Americans now dead of Covid-19, three-fourths have been 65 or older, with the virus having killed one-in-100 older Americans over the past two years. The pandemic may have deprived people of experiences at every stage of life—including students who’ve fallen behind during crucial stages of their education—but for older people, it’s taken years that time can no longer really compensate for. Many Americans are mourning older family members this holiday season, and many elderly people who’ve survived the pandemic are now living with the lingering effects of disruption, isolation, and loss. What do these tolls mean for American society?

Brian McGarry is an assistant professor in the Department of Medicine at the University of Rochester. According to McGarry, the pandemic has amplified some of the worst effects of getting older—the experiences of losing people your own age, feeling vulnerable, worrying about your own mortality, and even dealing with the effects of ageism in American life, both directly from people and indirectly in public policies. It’s also accelerated these effects at a time when life expectancy for most groups of Americans has been increasing and many have begun looking to retire later, effectively prolonging middle age. For those in need of long-term care and for their loved ones, McGarry says, the last two years have raised new questions about how they want to address vulnerability and need later in life—and the American healthcare system’s capability of addressing them.

Graham Vyse: Has there ever been a situation like this in America before, when so many elderly people have died so quickly from a single cause?