The COVID-19 Pandemic and Its Challenges on Social Issues

The gradual relaxation of restrictions, the return to individual autonomy and freedom, along with the announcement of the Next Generation EU investment plan and the start of the vaccination plan have all marked a significant change for the EU Member States since the outbreak of the crisis. However, after two years, the common intentions and political orientation, both in Europe and elsewhere, have given way to uncertainty, to more precarious social balancing, and to decisions not always shared by all European partners. Furthermore, the prospect of serious international instability has recently been made even worse by the consequences of the war in Ukraine. Consequently, 2022 has begun with many open and unresolved questions. Despite the vaccination campaign, there are those who continue to deny the existence of the virus or that the vaccine actually works, fueling arguments against the current treatments by spreading “alternative truths” belittling scientific discourse.