Older people worry less, Americans want priority access to vaccine – Global survey reveals generational and cultural differences in how we live with the pandemic

On Thursday, 1 October2020,the second round of the Life with Corona^[1] global survey is being launched, alongside a report^[2] covering key findings from six monthsof data collectionincluding:

• Young adults actively perform many behaviours to counter the pandemic.
• Stress infamilies during the pandemic falls disproportionately on women.
• Older people worry less during the pandemic, despite being at greater health risk.
• Support for government’s countermeasures drops after the first peak of COVID-related deaths in a country.
• Overall, people think a vaccine should be made available globally. Only in the USA do more people think their county should have special access to it.
• Younger people are more willing to pay to stop the spread of the disease than older people.

These findings^[3] come from analysis of nearly12,000 responses from more than 130 countries.

‘The coronavirus changedthe lives and livelihoods of billions of people worldwide, with an unprecedented speed and force. This is not just a medical pandemic – it is a social pandemic as well,’ says Professor Tilman Brück from ISDC – International Security and Development Center^[4] and the Leibniz Institute of Vegetable and Ornamental Crops^[5], who initiated the Life with Corona survey.

‘Our lives are changing rapidly, fundamentally and permanently. New lines of conflicts within families, between generations and between countries are emerging. Even if we defeat the virus soon, its legacy will shape our societies for a long time,in complex ways. We document these changes in real time,’ adds Dr Wolfgang Stojetz, from ISDC – International Security and Development Center^[6] and Head of Data & Analysis of the Life with Coronasurvey.

‘Our analysis shows how comprehensive the social, economic and psychological impacts of the pandemic are, in developed and developing economies alike,’ says Professor Patricia Justino from United Nations University World Institute for Development Economics Research (UNU-WIDER)^[7]. ‘The Life with Coronasurvey allows us see how the pandemic affects the way people all over the world relate to each otheras the pandemic unfolds.’