Considerations on covid-19 impact on the individual-society relationship: From vaccine hesitancy to the clamor for a vaccine

Abstract

Since March 2020, when the World Health Organization (WHO) declared that COVID-19 was a pandemic at global level, we are facing an unprecedented health crisis over the past 100 years. While the search for a vaccine represents the hope to overcome the pandemic, measures were established to control the disease transmission through individual and collective actions of hygiene and physical distancing. Based on the popular clamor for new vaccines, this critical essay discusses the paradox and contradictions of the individual-society relationship in the context of COVID-19 considering vaccine hesitancy as a historical and social phenomenon. We also argue that decisions on (not) vaccinating or (not) following COVID-19 control and preventive measures are influenced by social belonging and traversed by inequalities that tend to exacerbate. COVID-19 surrounding infodemic and vaccine hesitancy reflect the tension between scientifically- validated and self-perceived risk, besides being impacted by the crisis of confidence in science. Perceiving risk and adhering to precautionary measures extrapolate subjectivity and rationality, and mirror values and creed shaped by the political, economic, and sociocultural dimensions.