Mental Health in Times of COVID-19: An Exploration of the Representation of Mental Health in Pandemic Literary and Cinematic Narratives

Pandemics though concern the medical health of a certain community or communities, also have a significant impact on the mental health of the members of that community. Each section of society is affected, albeit differently, in a pandemic. Art and literature engage with and represent society and all its mores. In a pandemic as well, these modes of representation assume a special responsibility and role. This paper seeks to analyse the representation of the mental health of individuals and society through literary and artistic mediums. In the case of artistic mediums, cinematic portrayals will be the centre of study. These representations, in turn, affect one’s mental state and understanding of a situation. The paper will thus, study and evaluate certain literary and cinematic texts, their representation of mental health, and their applicability to the COVID-19 pandemic using established theories as supporting material to substantiate the claims made in the study of the aforementioned works.

Anxieties and Fears: A Sociological Study of Mental Health of Students in COVID-19 Pandemic

This paper aims to explore the impact of COVID-19 and the implications of pandemic induced changes on the mental health of students. The study was conducted amongst currently enrolled college (undergraduate) and 12th-grade students in Delhi-NCR. Apart from this, parents and professionals were also consulted. This paper approaches the issue of mental health from a sociological perspective to create a comprehensive understanding of the factors which create anxieties and fears amongst students in times of COVID-19 induced pandemic. The study began with the assumption that mental health is not only a biological and psychological issue but needs to be contextualized in societal structures and societyindividual relationship. Students as a social group are primarily affected by institutions of education and family, the study thus explores how the three are intertwined. The paper ends with the contention that social integration and regulation are primary concepts through which individual resilience can be studied, understood and theorised. It also highlights that despite the commonsensical belief that the current times are different from the societal normal, a study like this offers a window to understand the structural continuities of the pre-pandemic period into the pandemic period.

COVID-19 Vaccine: The Fight Against SARS-CoV-2 Infection

Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) caused the pandemic in the year 2020, leading to disruption of the healthcare system with a great impact on socio-economy worldwide. Owing to this, an accelerated development of safe and efficient vaccines is required to fight against this virus. In this line, various vaccine development platforms have been exploited globally in order to manage the exponentially increasing rate of infection and mortality. Some vaccines in clinical phase trials have entered into emergency use authorization by few countries while others are in a preclinical stage. The present review summarizes the various platforms of vaccine development and also gives an insight into the vaccination programme initiated in India.