Las representaciones sociales de los adultos mayores sobre la Pandemia del COVID-19 y sus implicaciones para la vejez.

The COVID-19 Pandemic significantly impacted the lives of the elderly, placing them as the main risk group, which produced several consequences on the lives of these subjects. Thus, this study aimed to analyze the social representations (SR) of the elderly about the COVID-19 Pandemic. A sociodemographic questionnaire (analyzed using the IBM SPSS software) and a Free Association Test (analyzed using the Iramuteq software) were used. The research had the participation of 103 elderly Brazilians, of whom 18 were men and 85 women, aged between 60 and 86 years. Several terms were obtained that contribute to negative representations about the COVID-19 Pandemic, which affects the elderly in their singularities. The SR of the elderly reflect different moments of the pandemic state, at the same time that they are permeated by the crossings of political and media conduct, adopted safety protocols, in addition to prejudices with the elderly. This study concluded that the most common sensations, experiences and aspects contribute to negative representations of the COVID-19 pandemic by the elderly public, built around fear and sustained by the context of concern regarding safety protocols.