Vienna Yearbook of Population Research 2022, pp. 15-37, 2022/07/28
Demographic aspects of the COVID-19 pandemic and its consequences
Over the course of the COVID-19 pandemic, the contributions of the social sciencesto discussions about pandemic management have become more visible and moresignificant. In this essay, I review major aspects of a sociology of the pandemic.After providing an overview of the potential contributions of the different fields ofsociology (the “toolbox” of sociology), I discuss two main domains: first, socialinequalities and how they relate to the process of the spread of COVID-19 fromexposure and infection, and to the consequences of the pandemic in the widerpopulation; and, second, the potential long-term effects of the pandemic on the lifecourse.
Keywords: COVID-19; pandemic; social inequality; life course; social networks; social norms
