BEIJING, June 10 (Xinhua) questions: Why is the safety of the elderly population of the United States at the outbreak neglected?
Author: Kim Long Run
The month just passed was the “Older Month” in the United States. In accordance with established practice, the US President will issue a statement. In this year's statement, Trump stated that the elderly are an indispensable and respectable group in American society. Under the epidemic, he will do his best to take care of this group. But is this really the case?
First look at the figures officially released by the United States. According to a report by the ABC on June 1, a recent survey conducted by the US Centers for Disease Control and Health Care and Medicaid Services found that 25,923 people living in nursing homes have died of new pneumonia so far. The report said that this is the first time the federal government has conducted a special investigation involving the new coronary pneumonia on the elderly, but the actual number may be much higher than this.
Also on June 1, "USA Today" reported that the newspaper found that through the information disclosed by the states, since the outbreak of the New Crown Outbreak, nursing homes and long-term care institutions across the United States have reported a total of 40,600 new crown deaths. , Accounting for about 40% of deaths in the new crown in the United States.
This ratio is basically consistent with the results of a recent survey by the US Nonprofit Organization Equal Opportunities Research Foundation (FREOPP). According to a report released by the agency on May 22, there are currently 2.1 million people living in nursing homes and other nursing facilities in the United States, accounting for about 0.6% of the total population of the United States. But the deaths of new crowns in nursing homes such as nursing homes accounted for 42% of the overall US.
Due to different statistical standards and data sources, there are differences in the survey results obtained by different agencies. But these investigations all revealed such a cruel fact: As a susceptible and high-risk group of new coronary pneumonia, the safety of the elderly in the United States has been ignored, and even "sacrificed."
Due to the long-term overcrowding and shortage of nursing workers in nursing homes in the United States, once an infection occurs, the spread of the epidemic is almost a matter of course. During the epidemic, the federal government lags behind in its actions and delays in the distribution of medical resources. Many elderly people cannot get timely treatment.
Compared to the difficult situation of some American elderly people, the cold-blooded comments from some politicians and media people are even more shocking.
In an interview in March this year, Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick of the United States said that many seniors, including himself, would make sacrifices for young people to save the US economy. Patrick said, "No one has asked me,'As an elderly person, do you trade life for the prosperity of future generations of the United States at the cost of life'. If this is in exchange, I fully agree."
The American conservative media person Ben Shapiro said in an interview show called "Ruben Report" in April this year that an 81-year-old person died of new coronary pneumonia and a 30-year-old person died of new coronary pneumonia, and Not a concept. He said, "If an 81-year-old grandmother died in a nursing home, this is a terrible tragedy, but the average life expectancy of an American is 80 years."
These cold words represent the indifference of some people in American society towards the elderly. Their difficult situation is caused by this concept of "economy over life". The right to life as the most basic human right is ignored, which is really chilling.
In contrast, during the epidemic, China “reacted extraordinary things with extraordinary measures and fully guaranteed the people’s right to life and health”, and decisively chose life first between people’s lives and economic interests.
According to the white paper "China Action Against New Coronary Pneumonia Epidemic" released on the 7th of this month, since the outbreak, more than 3,000 new coronary pneumonia patients over 80 years old and seven hundred years old have been cured in Hubei Province. Rescued from death online.
What is behind this set of data is that the Chinese government has always upheld the concept of "human life is above all else".
"From a baby born only 30 hours to an elderly person over 100 years old, save every patient's life at any cost." This is the responsibility of a government, and the responsibility of a government to the people. Such responsibilities and responsibilities should not differ in any way due to the political system. (Finish)