[Perspectives] Pandemic emotions

Abstract

There have been various efforts to capture public experiences and views during the COVID-19 pandemic, most frequently through surveys about perceptions of the risk of getting COVID-19, willingness to accept a COVID-19 vaccine, and attitudes towards government handling of the pandemic—from its policies around lockdown, school closures, and physical distancing to vaccine mandates and travel restrictions. But what was less captured in the multitude of pandemic surveys were records of the experiences and waves of emotions felt during the COVID-19 pandemic, written or recorded by citizens themselves.