I agree with you but when allocating resources within a health service, and within a society, it is fair and reasonable to place more value on the life of a child than an already sick elderly person. The first person I heard express that view was my elderly mother, who has a long list of underlying conditions.I think the report reflects the crude understanding by some countries that the people who died would have died within 12 months in any event due to old age, underlying health issues etc. and so should not be an issue. It is the way it was expressed rather than lack of understanding that was the issue. but it lead to very poor headlines for some countries. I think Mike Ryan of the WHO called it lack of intergenerational solidarity. Colm Henry of NEPHT spoke often about protection of the elderly and the most vulnerable in society, which I think reflected the Irish view.
I'd be worried about letting the government or anyone else decide which kind of life has more or less "value."it is fair and reasonable to place more value on the life of a child than an already sick elderly person.
Really? It happens every day.I'd be worried about letting the government or anyone else decide which kind of life has more or less "value."
I think the main reason is that there is much more lobbying for research and treatment for specifically female as opposed to specifically male illnesses. Women are also generally more aware of their health compared to men, which also helps explain their higher average life expectancy. You are correct about the young often getting preference over the old in treatment decisions but I'm still uneasy with it. Age seems to me a very blunt instrument when assessing someone's "value." Is a 20 year old gangster really more "valuable" than a 60 year old nurse?That's because women get Breast cancer much younger than men get Prostate cancer.
The challenge there is what system do you use to guide medical professionals on who is good or bad? The scoring would need to be publicly available to be of use. Judging people on looks will see you mistreat many innocents from less privileged backgrounds and prioritise wealthy criminals over more deserving cases.Age seems to me a very blunt instrument when assessing someone's "value." Is a 20 year old gangster really more "valuable" than a 60 year old nurse?
No, the main reason is that, in the vast majority of cases, breast cancer kills younger women and prostate cancer kills old men.I think the main reason is that there is much more lobbying for research and treatment for specifically female as opposed to specifically male illnesses. Women are also generally more aware of their health compared to men, which also helps explain their higher average life expectancy.
Only in relation to short term, immediate things. In general terms the elderly are strongly prioritised over the young when it comes to government spending.You are correct about the young often getting preference over the old in treatment decisions
Have you read the article you linked?Nope.
Excess mortality hits +16%, highest 2022 value so far
Excess mortality in the EU climbed to +16% in July 2022 from +7% in both June and May. This was the highest value on record so far in 2022, amounting to around 53 000 additional deaths in July this year compared with the monthly averages for 2016-2019. This was an unusually high value for this...ec.europa.eu
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