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For almost two years, the COVID-19 pandemic has affected every aspect of Europeans' lives – education, work, politics, health… Countries have reacted differently to its impact, depending on political culture, trust in science and government, and even geopolitical affinities. The first reaction was 'every nation for itself'.
If the EU ended up handling the vaccination challenge better than expected – after a slow start – most of the distribution was done at local level, with national politicians and experts occupying the information space. As a result, the more polarised societies are, the more numerous the sceptics about vaccination, who are often then picked up by radical and populist politicians.
In a panel discussion during the Lectorinfabula festival, which took place in Conversano (Italy) in late September, Belarusian journalist Iryna Vidanava, Serbian reporter Marina Lalovic, Swedish journalist Carl Henrik Fredriksson and Voxeurop cofounder Catherine André debated on how European countries cope with the pandemic: from the beginning of the Belarusian democratic revolution to lockdowns; from the peculiar Swedish solution to the no-vaxxers movement in Italy, France and Central and Eastern Europe.
👉 Watch more Debates on Europe talks.
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