COVID-19 pandemic

=== Discrimination and prejudice ===
{{Main|Xenophobia and racism related to the COVID-19 pandemic}}

[[File:Memorial Day 2020 - San Francisco Under Quarantine (49935630543).jpg|thumb|A socially distanced homeless encampment in San Francisco, California, in May 2020<ref>{{#invoke:cite news ||last1=McCormick |first1=Erin |title='Homelessness is lethal': US deaths among those without housing are surging |url=https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2022/feb/07/homelessness-is-lethal-deaths-have-risen-dramatically |access-date=20 August 2022 |work=[[The Guardian]] |date=7 February 2022 }}</ref>]]
Heightened prejudice, [[xenophobia]], and racism toward people of [[Sinophobe|Chinese and East Asian descent]] were documented around the world.<ref name="AutoDW-251" /><ref name="zogcf" /> Reports from February 2020, when most confirmed cases were confined to China, cited racist sentiments about Chinese people 'deserving' the virus.<ref name="bangkokpost1854094">{{#invoke:cite news || vauthors = Wangkiat P |title=Virus-induced racism does no one any good |url=https://www.bangkokpost.com/opinion/opinion/1854094/virus-induced-racism-does-no-one-any-good |date=10 February 2020 |work=Bangkok Post}}</ref><ref name="psychologytoday202002">{{#invoke:cite news || vauthors = Bartholomew R |url=https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/its-catching/202002/the-coronavirus-and-the-search-scapegoats |title=The Coronavirus and the Search for Scapegoats |date=6 February 2020 |work=Psychology Today}}</ref><ref name="20200201telegraph">{{#invoke:cite news || vauthors = Smith N |title=Anti-Chinese racism spikes as virus spreads globally |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2020/02/01/anti-chinese-racism-spikes-virus-spreads-globally/ |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220110/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2020/02/01/anti-chinese-racism-spikes-virus-spreads-globally/ |archive-date=10 January 2022 |url-status=live |date=1 February 2020 |work=The Daily Telegraph |url-access=subscription |quote='Some Muslims were claiming the disease was "divine retribution" for China's oppression of the Uighur minority. The problem lay in confusing the Chinese population with the actions of an authoritarian government known for its lack of transparency,' he said.}}{{cbignore}}</ref> Individuals of Asian descent in Europe and North America reported increasing instances of racially-motivated abuse and assaults as a result of the pandemic.<ref name="NYT Racism">{{#invoke:cite news || vauthors = Tavernise S, Oppel Jr RA |title=Spit On, Yelled At, Attacked: Chinese-Americans Fear for Their Safety |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/23/us/chinese-coronavirus-racist-attacks.html |access-date=23 March 2020 |work=[[The New York Times]] |date=23 March 2020}}</ref><ref name="05O7n" /><ref name="NYT_April_Racism">{{#invoke:cite news || vauthors = La Gorce T |title=Chinese-Americans, Facing Abuse, Unite to Aid Hospitals in Coronavirus Battle |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/05/nyregion/coronavirus-chinese-americans-supplies.html |access-date=29 April 2020 |work=[[The New York Times]] |date=5 April 2020}}</ref> US President [[Donald Trump]] was criticised for referring to SARS-CoV-2 as the "Chinese Virus" and "Kung Flu", terms which were condemned as being racist and xenophobic.<ref name="trumpnyt">{{#invoke:cite news || vauthors = Rogers K, Jakes L, Swanson A |title=Trump Defends Using 'Chinese Virus' Label, Ignoring Growing Criticism |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/18/us/politics/china-virus.html |access-date=20 March 2020 |work=[[The New York Times]] |date=18 March 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200320001747/https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/18/us/politics/china-virus.html |archive-date=20 March 2020 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="20200320BI">{{#invoke:cite web || url=https://www.businessinsider.com/trump-using-racism-against-china-to-distract-from-coronavirus-failures-2020-3 |last1=Haltiwanger|first1=john|title=Republicans are using racism against China to try to distract from Trump's disastrous coronavirus response |work=Business Insider |date=20 March 2020}}</ref><ref name="MNCw4">{{#invoke:cite web || vauthors = Lee BY |title=Trump Once Again Calls Covid-19 Coronavirus The 'Kung Flu' |url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/brucelee/2020/06/24/trump-once-again-calls-covid-19-coronavirus-the-kung-flu/ |access-date=9 July 2020 |website=Forbes}}</ref>

[[Ageism|Age-based discrimination]] against older adults increased during the pandemic. This was attributed to their perceived vulnerability and subsequent physical and social isolation measures, which, coupled with their reduced social activity, increased dependency on others. Similarly, limited digital literacy left the elderly more vulnerable to isolation, depression, and loneliness.<ref>{{#invoke:cite journal || vauthors = Silva MF, Silva DS, Bacurau AG, Francisco PM, Assumpção D, Neri AL, Borim FS | title = Ageism against older adults in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic: an integrative review | journal = Revista de Saúde Pública | volume = 55 | page = 4 | year = 2021 | pmid = 33886953 | pmc = 8023321 | doi = 10.11606/s1518-8787.2021055003082 }}</ref>

In a correspondence published in [[The Lancet]] in 2021, German epidemiologist Günter Kampf described the harmful effects of "inappropriate stigmatisation of unvaccinated people, who include our patients, colleagues, and other fellow citizens", noting the evidence that vaccinated individuals play a large role in transmission.<ref>{{#invoke:cite journal||title=COVID-19: stigmatising the unvaccinated is not justified|first=Günter|last=Kampf|date=20 November 2021|journal=The Lancet|volume=398|issue=10314|pages=1871|doi=10.1016/S0140-6736(21)02243-1|pmid=34801101|pmc=8601682 }}</ref> American bioethicist Arthur Caplan responded to Kampf, writing "Criticising [the unvaccinated] who... wind up in hospitals and morgues in huge numbers, put stress on finite resources, and prolong the pandemic... is not stigmatising, it is deserved moral condemnation."<ref>{{#invoke:cite journal ||last1=Caplan |first1=Arthur L |title=Stigma, vaccination, and moral accountability |journal=The Lancet |date=February 2022 |volume=399 |issue=10325 |pages=626–627 |doi=10.1016/S0140-6736(22)00189-1 |pmid=35151392 |pmc=8830899 }}</ref>

In January 2022, [[Amnesty International]] urged [[COVID-19 pandemic in Italy|Italy]] to change their anti-COVID-19 restrictions to avoid discrimination against unvaccinated people, saying that "the government must continue to ensure that the entire population can enjoy its fundamental rights." The restrictions included mandatory vaccination over the age of 50, and mandatory vaccination to use public transport.<ref>{{#invoke:cite news || url=https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/dont-discriminate-against-unvaccinated-amnesty-international-tells-italy-2022-01-16/ | title=Don't discriminate against the unvaccinated, Amnesty International tells Italy | newspaper=Reuters | date=16 January 2022 }}</ref>