Covid 19 conversation questions

🧑‍🏫 You are free to use this material in class.

🤷 For general advice on using conversation topics, see the article on conversation questions.
📜 For Teflpedia’s complete list of topics, see Category:Teflpedia conversation questions.

🔀 Go to another, random topic.

Note this is potentially a sensitive topic, learners may have friends or relatives who have died from Covid. People who catch Covid may suffer from PTSD. Teachers are advised to proceed with caution.

Covid and you

This year’s must-have accessory. What colour is yours?

• Have you been infected by Covid-19?
  • If yes, what were your symptoms? Did you have to go to hospital?
  • Do you have any continuing symptoms (“Long Covid")?

The pandemic and you

• How has the Covid pandemic affected your job? Have you had to work from home? Can you do your job from home?
  • If you’re a student, how has Covid affected you and your studies?
  • If you’re a business owner, how has Covid affected your business?

• Have you or anyone you know had to shield (stay away from others) because they have health issues that would make catching Covid very dangerous?
• How has the pandemic affected your physical and mental health?

Covid in your country

• How well has your country handled the pandemic compared to other countries?
  • New Zealand has been cited as an example of how to handle the pandemic well. Why do you think they have coped so well?
  • Why has the death rate in the USA been so high?
  • Most countries’ governments have made a mixture of good and bad decisions. What good or bad decisions do you think your country’s government has made? Do you think they have learned from any mistakes they might have made?
• Do you think your country has implemented an effective test-and-trace system? Do you think this system threatens civil liberties?
• Have you had to go into national lockdown?
  • If yes, how did you pass the time?
• Do you know of any famous people who have died after catching Covid?
• How has the Covid pandemic affected professional sport in your country?
• How has the pandemic affected people’s views on health professionals (doctors, nurses, etc)? Don’t health professionals deserve higher salaries?

Consequences

• People are travelling a lot less due to the pandemic. When do you think things will start getting back to normal?
• How would you feel about travelling to a country with a significant outbreak?
• In what ways do you think a pandemic is affecting the world’s financial systems?
• Which business do you think are being helped by a pandemic and which business are being damaged?

Vaccination

Maria getting the shot.

Maria got the shot and is on #teamvaccine - are you?

• Have been vaccinated against Covid-19?
  • If yes, how does it feel to be given some protection from Covid?
  • If you haven’t received the vaccine yet, when do you think you will be offered it?
• Do you normally get the annual flu jab?
• Who should receive vaccines first? Who decides this?
• What is herd immunity? How does vaccination contribute towards it?
• What is vaccine hesitancy?
  • What are the best (most credible) sources of information on vaccines? Why is this advice well-informed? (Alternative question: What’s the difference between the advice given by qualified medical professionals and “advice" you can see in Facebook groups or on Twitter?)
  • Has vaccine hesitancy in your country previously led to outbreaks of measles (or other diseases) due to not enough people being resistant?
  • Why are some people hesitant to receive vaccines, despite doctors noting that the benefits massively outweigh the risks?
  • Some people can’t be vaccinated due to other health conditions, but are far less likely to catch Covid if there’s herd immunity. Others may get the vaccine, but as the vaccine doesn’t work in a small percentage of cases, they don’t develop immunity, and so could still catch Covid. How do you think these people should feel about those who refuse to take the vaccine?
  • How do health professionals deal with people who are vaccine hesitant?
  • Should vaccination be mandated by the government?
  • Should vaccination be mandated by employers in roles where there is contact with vulnerable people (e.g. care home workers)?
  • Should vaccination be mandated by schools or universities?
  • Should vaccination be mandatory for people who want to travel abroad or for people who want to enter your country?
  • Have social media companies done enough to combat the spread of anti-vaccination misinformation?
• Are you worried that vaccines will become less effective due to mutations (changes) in the virus?

See also

• Death conversation questions
• Health conversation questions
• Pandemic conversation questions (very similar to this article)
• Travel conversation questions<