The Covid-19 pandemic brings time to the foreground as a multidimensional force that pervades diverse phenomena. For example,‘flattening the curve’–the key crisis management strategy pursued by many governments–is about slowing down the spread of the virus so that hospitals gain time to ramp up capacities and to heal patients without overflowing. Stimulus programs are about bridging the time between the pre-and post-pandemic pace of economic activity, because the virus is slowing down large parts of the global economy. Time is also of the essence in the development, production, and distribution of vaccines, complex tasks permeated by questions of timing (‘When will vaccines be available?’), pacing (‘How fast can people get vaccinated?’), and sequencing (‘In what order should people be vaccinated?’).
The pandemic also brings to light diverse experiences of time. For some, rushed rhythms of busy …