The Covid Interpersonal Environment and the Elderly
Claudewell S. Thomas, MD, MPH, DLFAPA, is an established psychiatrist who is currently retired ,, He received his medical degree in 1956 at SUNY Downstate College of Medicine and specializes in social psychiatry, public health psychiatry, and forensic psychiatry. Dr. Thomas was board certified by the American Board of Psychiatry... more
The issue of the role of government in assuring safety and well-being is repeatedly being brought to attention by gun violence episodes, public health pandemic precaution violations, police authority abuse, increasing violence against women and visible minorities, etc. in Michigan the spike in infections has doubled in the last week. The surge in infections has occurred mostly in the population under thirty. Despite vaccinations of nearly three million a day herd immunity arrival is a year or two away; the refusal of vaccinations is now clearly an ideological politicized issue with evangelicals and republicans (mostly males) refusing vaccination, it is not a first amendment right to cry fire in a crowded theater. That crowded theater may be planet earth but in the absence of world government, the theater for us becomes the USA.
The chance of a person over 80 actively infected with SARS dying is over 80% but it is now clearer that long-haul illness can beset the young with multi-system involvement and disability with death delayed for many years. Future, present, and past are at risk, and the ability of some to make personal profit lies in the scale against future, present, and past. Unions can protect some of the workers of the USA and provide employer-sanctioned health care but not for the majority of the working poor and not in right-to-work states. The workers of the world are never going to unite but the support network for Americans is neither a right nor a privilege but a necessity for the survival of our way of life. For the elderly, the state of California's DMV has extended driver's license renewal for 3 to 6 months for those over 70 and enabled online renewal for many. The state DMV people are helpful and considerate if you can get to them directly past the automated systems in the way.
A few weeks ago, I identified a few scams that were directed against the elderly. Today, I recommend against the use of store cards, which while not scams are disadvantageous in terms of usurious rates and prosecutorial bill collection practices. I can cite a company which I will call Northstar Tumult which pursued persecutors' phone calls with threats and false promises pursuant to the firing of our personal shopper who is pursuing her own suit. My recommendation is for the use of credit cards over debit cards (avoid) and store cards (avoid).
