Countries around the world have entered a “with-COVID” era; they’ve decided to live with COVID-19, just like how the current society lives with colds and other viruses. Vaccines have been created, COVID-19 treatments are being rolled out in several countries, and people now are becoming used to this pandemic. However, COVID-19 has exacerbated inequality around the world, and this increasing inequality manifests in vaccine access, economics, education, and racism. 

Before the post-COVID era, inequality increased rapidly and was approaching levels that could lead to social instability. Despite the fact that a lot of people have been vaccinated in different countries, some specific regions still do not even have access to vaccines. Africa is a great example of this. According to the World Health Organization(WHO), more than 600 million people weren’t vaccinated with the coronavirus vaccines. In addition, DW.com writes that not a single person in 10 different countries in Africa have access to vaccines. Some countries in Africa did have access to vaccines, but some didn’t, which created a very clear idea of inequality. 

In addition, the United Nations(UN) has stated that debt inequality existed due to the pandemic. They write, “World Bank President David R. Malpass, pointed out that inequality runs deep, encompassing not only vaccinations but also median income, interest rate differentials, bankruptcy processes and access to credit – all of which put poorer countries at a stark disadvantage.” At a G20 meeting, Malpass further argued, “the debt problem facing the poorer countries” must be recognized by different countries. The United Nations, which stands for peace around the world, has emphasized the importance of recognizing the inequality created due to COVID-19. Economic inequality was also a major domestic issue following the government support programs that were created to prevent mass unemployment during the COVID lockdowns. As governments printed money, many people used their money to invest in assets. Partly this was because the lockdown limited people’s spending and lifestyle options, for example, international travel was almost impossible, but also because certain assets had been rising in value since the financial crash of 2008. As people invested in housing, the stock market, and even radically new forms of an asset such as bitcoin, the existing owners of assets in those classes became very wealthy. The existing owners of assets like property were already the wealthiest in society, and as government support money was used to buy similar assets, their value increased and the wealthiest saw their wealth increase even further. During the pandemic, economic inequality in the US rose to the highest levels in history. As the poorest people in society lost their jobs or struggled to work due to the pandemic and used their government support money for essentials like food, the middle class bought assets and enriched the existing owners of these assets. Fixing the inequality caused by the pandemic will be extremely challenging, as citizens will oppose tax increases and governments will be wary about causing crashes in the value of the assets. For example in Korea, house prices have increased rapidly during the pandemic and many people believe there is a house price bubble. If the government tries to intervene in the market, it could cause a crash that would severely damage the entire economy. 

Another aspect of inequality that has emerged is inequality in education. As schools were closed down, many wealthier families paid for private tuition or classes for their children to ensure they did not fall behind with their studies. For poorer families, however, this was not an option. As a consequence, many poorer students may have fallen behind in their academic work and this could affect them for the rest of their lives as it will be challenging for them to catch up. Furthermore, as schools moved to online learning, students needed to use equipment at home to access that learning. Some of the poorest students did not have access to quality equipment like computers, microphones, and video cameras to access their daily education in a comfortable, efficient, and effective way. This inequality in access to education would have exacerbated existing inequality in the prospects of children born into families with greater wealth and opportunities. 

Last but not least, as some citizens feel threatened due to the pandemic, many expressed their fear through aggression and discrimination. The reported cases of racist abuse, both physical and mental, increased dramatically in countries around the world and was and still is causing tension within and between societies. Anyone with access to social media since the start of the pandemic will have experienced the phenomenon of racist videos and the conflict evident in the comments attached to them. In particular, as conspiracy theories about the origins of COVID-19 spread, hundreds and thousands of videos with similar content of racist abuse against Asians were uploaded and shared. Although scientists dispute the origins of COVID-19, the impact of theories related to Chinese laboratories has been clear and expressions of racism and discrimination both online and offline increased significantly since the outbreak of the pandemic. The former US president even described COVID-19 as the “Chinese Virus”, which seemed to encourage this type of abuse even more. People around the world had hope for greater quality in the 21st century, but the inequality in the sharing of vaccines and the rise in racism and discrimination have created the impression that inequality has instead increased. It seemed like the division between minorities was decreasing. However, due to coronavirus, people have started dividing people once again, based on their race. There now seems like there is a definite reason to stop the backlash of COVID-19, for the lives of specific countries as well as minorities.

Inequality has been a controversial topic for the past few decades. Leaders of different ethnic groups and societies slowly struggled to achieve equality and to find true justice around the world. However, due to COVID-19 inequality is increasing rapidly. Some countries need to wait until 2023 for vaccines, people are experiencing extreme economic crises, young people are losing hope for their futures, and people are discriminated against and threatened. COVID-19’s backlash is changing the world and leaders around the world must find a way rebuild societies based on more equality and more effective justice.