A Protracted Pandemic: Anthropological Responses to the Ongoing COVID-19 Crisis

Abstract

While the rollout of vaccines is probably the most effective mechanism to halt the spread of the pandemic (as evidenced by past health crises), it should be noted that there are clear disparities in the distribution and availability of vaccines at both the national level (such as in the United States) and globally (Duan et al. 2021). Despite the scientific evidence supporting the need to vaccinate and practice safety measures to reduce the rate of transmission (e.g., wearing masks and continuing to practice social distancing), such efforts have been met with multiple roadblocks and political challenges (Vest, Blackburn, and Yeager 2021). [...]we present to our readership a collection of manuscripts where anthropologists and scholars from related social sciences have engaged with COVID-19 in a variety of different settings and topics. Related to discourses involving incarceration, Shana Harris and Allison Schlosser's manuscript "At the Intersection of Harm Reduction and COVID-19: The Role of Anthropologists during and Post-Pandemic" describes new challenges to harm reduction programs as providers attempt to continue the provision of this critical public health service while also adhering to pandemic guidelines (e.g., social distancing).