At the beginning of the COVID-19 crisis, several public figures predicted that the
pandemic would precipitate a dramatic shift towards new sets of values in our societies.
Other more optimistic commenters prophesied a new dawn for egalitarian and
progressive values (Adib-Moghaddam, 2020; Kelly, 2020; Nancy, 2020). This conjecture
was drawn from the early belief that the SARS-CoV-2 virus would be impervious
to differences in age, class, ethnicity, and nationhood: a 'great equaliser'. As
statistics on death rates and hospitalisation rose, however, this optimism quickly
came to be seen as misguided. Not only are some individuals more susceptible to
the virus (ethnic minorities, senior citizens, those with pre-existing conditions), the
non-medical measures designed to prevent populations from spreading the virus
disproportionately affect other marginalised groups (such as those who have less
income or education, etc.). When more information became available on the causes,
exacerbating factors, and the prognosis of COVID-19 infection, some authorities
tried to make medical outcomes more equitable. (1) In some counties, those most at
risk from complications from the virus were often (although not always) given earlier
treatment or vaccine priority. (2) Some policymakers initially recognised (or at
least declared publicly) that disadvantaged communities and critical workers should
be vaccinated first. (3) Globally speaking, the World Health Organization's COVAX
scheme provided millions of vaccine doses to low-to-middle-income countries.
