Accepted Panels

In mid-March, 2020, “lockdown” restrictions were imposed on a Midwestern U.S. “life plan community” (LPC) of 270 older adults. Most live indepently in private apartments and houses on a large "campus" attached to a community center. While the oldest residents (ages 80+ years) were likely to feel more secure with pandemic restrictions, younger residents (between the ages of 65 and 80) reacted with rebellion and hostility. Restrictions were cautiously lifted as administrators drew from biomedical best practices that erred on protection of “bare life.” What have been consequences for residents and staff? This paper reports from several months of fieldwork between December 2020 and August 2022, including 104 interviews with residents and staff. Results show how saving lives from viral infection brought costs of accelerated aging and death. This variably impacted how people experienced “getting old,” and drew some residents and staff into a deeper sense of purpose and shared struggle. Updates from 2023 reveal longer term impacts of Covid-19 pandemic policies that suggest greater need to balance risk (and fears) of viral infection with the harms of social isolation and restricted movement.