Abstract
The text brings reflections on the challenges posed to the world due to the pandemic, both for its face of fear, amplified by the cacophony of political decisions, but also from the perspective of mutual aid and hope for a better future. The analysis of the pandemic impact on society is based on vulnerability framework. Three angles of analysis are adopted: "Exposure" is approached from the blocks to displacement and lockdown; “Sensitivity” is treated from the point of view of social inequalities, the weakened Welfare State, and strategies of herd immunity; The "capacity of response" is addressed by the role of science and democracies in the face of the crisis. The pandemic vulnerability analysis is based on examples mainly from Brazil, France, and Poland. Based on this vulnerability, it is proposed to rethink sustainable development and the environment: what lessons for the future can we learn from the crisis?