Background Due to the global pandemic, governments have enforced household isolation and social distancing to reduce infection and mortality rate. However, the impact of prolonged enforced isolation for older people who are prone to social isolation and loneliness has yet to be understood. Objectives A longitudinal study to understand the lived experience of people aged 70 and older, living in England during COVID‐19 restrictions. Methods All participants completed five qualitative telephone interviews from 20 April to 7 July 2020. The majority completed individual interviews ( n = 13), whilst two participants completed these interviews as a couple. Interviews were audio‐recorded, transcribed verbatim and thematic analysis completed from the perspective of hermeneutic phenomenology. Results Three themes included (1) engagement and confusion with government restrictions; (2) socialisation through virtual platforms and opportunistic physical social contact; and (3) accessing health care during COVID‐19 restrictions. Conclusion Older people are committed to following government restrictions, and government campaigns need to consider the potential impact of placing an emphasis on avoiding healthcare services. Virtual platforms are supportive but not sufficient to reduce social isolation and loneliness of older people. Thus, nurses supporting older people living in the community need to understand these concepts to provide holistic care and support older people's mental and physical health. Implications for practice Nurses are ideally placed to support older people to understand the current government restrictions, when to attend acute healthcare services or to engage virtually with healthcare appointments, and to discuss the risks of physically socialising with others.

Aims To explore how older people's experiences of COVID‐19 restrictions influenced their decision to receive a vaccine and to support nurse–patient vaccination conversations. Design A longitudinal hermeneutic phenomenological study. The application of the COREQ checklist informed the reporting of this study. Methods Data were collected through semi‐structured telephone interviews with older people (age ≥70) during two national restrictions implemented in England due to COVID‐19. Phase one of interviews occurred between April and July 2020 (six interviews), and phase two of interviews between January and April 2021 (four interviews). Data analysis was performed through content analysis. Results Thirteen older people (mean age 78) worked through six stages about their thoughts and beliefs about receiving a vaccine, which encompassed four of the five elements of the 5C model of vaccine hesitancy, confidence, convenience, calculation, collective, but not complacency. Stages included ‘our only hope is a vaccine’; ‘understanding and acceptance of an effective vaccine’; ‘social responsibility to protect others’; ‘organized but left with unanswered questions’; ‘need to feel secure’ and finally ‘vaccination alone is not enough’. Conclusion The experience of COVID‐19 restrictions by older people informed their approach of engaging with scientific information to inform their decisions to be vaccinated but also developed their sense of collective responsibility to younger generations and those at risk, which informed their adherence to restrictions and the vaccination programme. Impact Nurses are optimally placed to support older people to implement and adhere to national government restrictions as appropriate and prevent obsessive routines, and support discussions and the provision of scientific information on COVID‐19 vaccinations, whilst being inclusive of older peoples' sense of collective responsibility.

Research aims: An exploration of the lived experience of cocooning and social distancing practices of older people in the Republic of Ireland during the COVID-19 pandemic.Methods: Using a convenience sample of four participants from the Republic of Ireland, semistructured interviews were audio-recorded over six sessions, two weeks apart, between the 6 th of April 2020 and the 7 th of July 2020. Transcripts were analysed using content analysis of longitudinal data for the recognition of themes.Findings: Three themes were identified, including impact on health and mental wellbeing, commitment to restrictions, and concern for the nonadherence of others. Conclusion:Participants committed fully to cocooning and other government restrictions, sometimes to the detriment of health. Healthcare professionals will need to be mindful of possible post-pandemic deconditioning resulting from adherence to government restrictions, including lingering anxieties regarding returning to normality after prolonged isolation.