It is almost three years since the World Health Organisation characterised the Covid-19 outbreak as a pandemic. Working at breakneck speed, scientists managed to produce effective vaccinations in record time. The subsequent mass production of vaccines and their rollout by governments have enabled most of us to resume our daily lives, with the pandemic gradually receding in memory.
China, on the other hand, decided to stop publishing data on Covid cases and deaths altogether in December following anti-lockdown protests, claiming a “decisive victory” against the virus on 16 February. Yet, as tempting as it may be for governments to embrace propaganda, the truth is we are far from out of the woods and there remains substantial homework to do to prevent dangerous new variants from emerging.
Sampling 46,000 respondents, our research conducted at the beginning of the pandemic suggests public authorities could start off by shifting the focus away from protecting the most vulnerable to a somewhat less intuitive demographic: single men.
