The precarity of old age: as a condition of the vulnerability of older adults to Covid-19

Abstract

This subject is presented through an anthropological perspective based on current implications faced by the elderly, the Covid-19 pandemic, the different preventive measures taken to avoid an outbreak, and the exposure to the virus of this very specific population. It includes the concept of "Pedagogy of Aging" as the narrative that enhances an ageist culture. It also presents an international framework to evaluate how the aging population encountering the pandemic has been treated; moreover it highlights how the already implemented measures have caused a high mortality rate due to Covid-19 among this sector of the population. On the other hand, this also proves the important regression for the consolidation of an inclusive society for all age groups by allowing ageist practices. Throughout this study, it is denoted how in Mexico, the precariousness of aging and old age, places the elderly as the most vulnerable sector in the sight of the pandemic, manifesting that it is not only age that represents the risk of catching and developing Covid-19.