65 And Up
The NYT’s recently ran an article which discusses a topic that is not only timely, but gives one pause.   The article begins by talking about the back to school rush of parents getting their kids vaccinated before the start of school, and seques into the meat of the article; how should older adults be treated for vaccines and other health related issues?
Currently, the article points out that the two largest growing subsets of older adults; those 80-90 and 90+ are typically squished together and there is an assumption that our bodies don’t change that much during those later years.  The problem with that type of thinking is that humans do look, act, think and feel different from 80- 100+.
The dearth of research medically on these people aging with gusto is reflected by the mindset of medicine thinking that a vaccine given at 65 will sustain a person of 80+.  The shingles vaccine is one example given in the article .
 
Why Are Aging Adults Being Treated The Same Regardless of Their Decade?
Perhaps, ageism has something to do with it, but I think it’s a reflection of the medical environment to usually ignore people they feel are byond being fixable   This is why older people tend to be excluded from research and clinical trials.  The article provides insight into what is happening right now.  Louise Aronson, a professor of genetics at UCSF, claims studies “don’t measure outcomes that reflect older people’s priorities, insurance companies pay for care that may be useless”. She maintains that in this century the older people, not just the children should be studies and the NIH shoild require older adults be part of clinical studies.
The article concludes by asserting that our lives are not over at 65 anymore and medicine needs to bring itself up to speed!