An editorial in Bloomberg Tuesday explored the largely voluntary movement over the past century in the United States toward herding people over the age of 65 into special communities built around their needs. In 1850, for example, nearly 70% of individuals aged 65 or older lived with their adult children. By the 1930s, that percentage had declined to just under 40%, and by century’s end, it had fallen to 13%.
“Ultimately, the U.S. became one of the most age-segregated nations in the world,” the article stated. Yet a growing body of research suggests that segregating people by age isn’t healthy for anyone, and the pandemic may turn out to be the greatest example of that.
“Our most vulnerable members of society are concentrated into communities and institutions that, once infected, can easily turn into catastrophes,” according to the article.
The next wave of the virus, the author noted, may be dominated by smaller, but proportionately more lethal, outbreaks throughout the nation’s skilled nursing facilities.
