{"id":55432,"date":"2022-12-21T10:41:28","date_gmt":"2022-12-21T18:41:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lapost.us\/?p=55432"},"modified":"2022-12-21T10:41:28","modified_gmt":"2022-12-21T18:41:28","slug":"california-at-forefront-of-protecting-older-adults-from-pandemic","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lapost.us\/?p=55432","title":{"rendered":"California at Forefront of Protecting Older Adults from Pandemic"},"content":{"rendered":"
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By<\/span>Peter White<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Once called the pandemic of the unvaccinated, COVID 19 is increasingly referred to as the pandemic of older adults because of its disproportionate impact on seniors and people with disabilities.<\/p>\n

The COVID mortality figures from the CDC show people over 50 are dying from COVID 25 times more often than young adults 18-29. The risk is 340 times higher if you are 85.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe want to remember that the biggest predictor, and the most important risk factor, is just age,\u201d said Dr. Tomas Aragon, director of the California Department of Public Health (CDPH).<\/p>\n

Aragon led off a panel of health experts who shared strategies on how to protect seniors and those with disabilities at a\u00a0recent Zoom news briefing<\/a>\u00a0hosted by EMS and the California Department of Aging.<\/p>\n

California\u2019s greying population is surviving COVID a bit better than the national average. According to the Kaiser Family Foundation, of the 1.1 million COVID deaths in the U.S. about 790,000 were people ages 65 and older. That group accounts for 16% of the total U.S. population but 75% of all COVID deaths to date.<\/p>\n

In California, 71.5% of COVID deaths were people 65+, according to CDPH, and that group makes up 15.6% of California\u2019s population. Lifespan and quality of health are determined by a number of factors, including race, socio-economic status, regular exercise and diet.<\/p>\n

California leads the nation when it comes to aging policy. The California Master Plan for Aging, signed by Gov. Gavin Newsom three years ago, has five goals. They are housing for all stages and ages, reimagining health and healthcare delivery, inclusion and equity, support for caregivers, and affording aging.<\/p>\n

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