Pandemic, two years later.

At the end of the second year of the COVID-19 pandemic, two important phenomena should be noted: the development and mass production of a coronavirus vaccine, on the one hand, and the global phenomenon of vaccine rejection, on the other. Before our eyes, old models of thinking that have existed since the Enlightenment are crumbling. It would seem, isn't it obvious that mankind can and must overcome diseases by joint and conscious efforts? Isn't it indisputable that vaccination is a good thing, that it is not just a protection against the disease of one particular person, but also the salvation of the entire civilization? However, people answer these questions differently. The pace of vaccination is slowing down, stable communities of opponents of vaccination and conspiracy theorists are becoming massive in many countries (especially in Eastern Europe and Asia). And at a time when there are entire regions in the world that lack a vaccine (Africa, parts of Asia and Latin America), there are countries where the vaccine is in abundance, but the number of those vaccinated remains low due to the resistance of a significant part of society.

This problem is not solved by enlightenment and eradication of ignorance. The current ignorance - arrogant and aggressive - is not from a lack of education, but from the specifics of modern consciousness, from the "device of the head." Conspiracy theories, including those related to vaccination, usually spread from the global center to the periphery - from the United States to Latin America, for example. By the way, what reaches India and settles primarily in conservative-orthodox circles are rehashings of Western originals such as QAnon (followers of this “theory” are convinced that some secret and powerful cabal of satanic pedophiles rules the world, including leading politicians, primarily Democrats, major entrepreneurs, actors, members of royal families and other celebrities).

In total, 200 million people fell ill with coronavirus in the world in 2021, of which 3.6 million died (this is twice as many as in 2020). The excess death rate in India from April 2020 to November 2021 was three times the official rate, according to a large-scale study published by The Economist. According to official statistics, the number of deaths from coronavirus in India has exceeded 400 thousand people.