Does vaccine ageism amount to gerontocide?

The Encyclopedia of World Problems and Human Potential observes that gerontocide is an uncommon practice limited to what it describes as so-called primitive societies. [...]some practices might have gone beyond what is ethically acceptable: a study in India found the median age of people admitted to...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:The Lancet (British edition) 2021-09, Vol.398 (10304), p.952-953
Main Authors: Lloyd-Sherlock, Peter, Lasco, Gideon, McKee, Martin, Perianayagam, Arokiasamy, Sempé, Lucas
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Age
Coronaviruses
COVID-19
COVID-19 vaccines
Encyclopedias
Immunization
Older people
Pandemics
Vaccination
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Summary:The Encyclopedia of World Problems and Human Potential observes that gerontocide is an uncommon practice limited to what it describes as so-called primitive societies. [...]some practices might have gone beyond what is ethically acceptable: a study in India found the median age of people admitted to a tertiary level hospital for COVID-19 was just 33·5 years.5 In all countries for which we have robust data, COVID-19 case fatality increases exponentially beyond the age of 60 years.6 Despite these data, national approaches to prioritising COVID-19 vaccination have been very diverse. Unlike age-based triage for acute COVID-19 care, this vaccination policy will not save lives: it will contribute to thousands, potentially millions of avertable deaths. Or as the Encyclopedia of World Problems and Human Potential puts it: “where the existence of an extra mouth to feed becomes especially critical when that person is unproductive”.
ISSN:0140-6736
1474-547X
DOI:10.1016/S0140-6736(21)01689-5