Ideas for Pandemic Short Stories

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A large number of healthy young people volunteer to contract the virus and live together in a luxury quarantine hotel in order to, over time, boost herd immunity.


In the early days of the pandemic, before many people know what it is, a young man contracts the virus and immediately decides to pay a visit to the now elderly priest who abused him as a child.


In a misguided suicide attempt, an elderly man tries, and fails, to contract the virus.


Waiting in line to get tested for the virus, two strangers meet and fall in love. When they receive their test results one of them has tested positive and the other negative.


People sit alone in their apartments wondering how long this will last.


A young, would-be dictator considers the possibility that “voluntary social distancing” might be the key to his future success.


For the first time in history a socialist is about to be elected president. And then the pandemic hits.


An activist group devises a means of protest in which every protester stands exactly six feet away from ever other protester.


A meeting at which everyone arrives, washes their hands, sits six feet away from each other, and talks.


A politician, having been told the pandemic is completely under control, takes a wrong turn and ends up in one of the poorest neighbourhoods, where he learns things aren’t under control at all.


A new couple meet and fall in love just as the pandemic strikes and spend three months locked in their apartment having sex in every possible way.


The virus rapidly spreads through the police force.


At the factory where they assemble the virus tests, the poorly paid workers contract the virus and spread it through the tests.


As he lies in bed dying of the virus, an elderly right-wing billionaire – who spent his entire life fighting against public services (especially against public healthcare) – reflects on the fact that if there had been more effective healthcare the virus might not have spread so rapidly and therefore he might not be dying now.


A mutual aid group acquire a ventilator and teach themselves how to use it by watching YouTube tutorials.


During a rent strike, the landlord comes over to meet the tenants as a group and, for the first time, they end up having a real discussion about all of their lives.


A vaccine is developed and the world rejoices. But soon scientists discover it is only effective in fifty percent of the population and no one can figure out why.


A woman recounts the life story of her parents, who tragically both passed away at the exact same time.


Two science aficionados are arguing on Twitter over whether the actual fatality rate is 1% or 0.8%, when one of them receives a text message that his childhood best friend has died.


The author recounts reading two different online articles about the virus, as each one presents a set of facts that are basically opposite to the other.


An anti-vaxxer has a deep crisis of faith.


A Hollywood screenwriter pitches a superhero film in which all the superheroes catch the virus. The pitch does not go well.




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