Social movements are of critical importance in bringing about social change nay development. Social movements are large groupings of individuals or organizations that focus on specific political or social issues. Deprived groups consisting of peasants, tribals, Dalits, backward classes, youth, and women have been organizing themselves to fight against inequalities, discrimination, and deprivation. The United States has a long tradition of social movements that have sparked major changes in bringing about social change and development. The movements have been of various types as labor, civil rights, Black nationalism, anti-globalization, environmental, etc. The French Revolution in the 18th century can be termed as a radical movement which brought about social change and development not only in France but also in Europe and in other nations. In the 19th century Europe, labor movements were based on Marxism, that is, based on the class struggle. Unification of Germany in 1990 and the collapse of Soviet Union are the two important events in Europe which brought about development in Europe. India too has witnessed several movements as Backward Classes, Nationalist, Dalits, Caste, Youth, Tribal, Farmers’, Environmental, and Women’s movements. The social movements as collectivities attempting to change the social order cannot be analyzed simply in terms of success or failure. Some have succeeded to reach the desired goals and others have failed. Failure may come as a result of ruthless suppression of the movement or through widespread apathy. A movement may wither away because very few take it seriously, and it does not develop enough power to force its program on society. Success is most apparent when a movement manages to have its power legitimized as authority.

The world has seen many epidemics but the Corona virus disease (COVID-19), which started in the end of 2019, is still with us. Although COVID-19 started in China in December 2019, it spread to other countries at a great speed. As we peruse the list of COVID-19 cases, it is found to be more in Europe and America and less in Asian countries and still less in Africa. Major epidemics too were predominant in Europe and America. This article tries to examine the factors of COVID-19 such as care taken during the epidemics, racial features, immunity, and type and amount of food consumed. It also highlights the implications arising from the factors. While some factors such as ethnicity, climate, and extent of urbanization cannot be changed, factors such as increasing immunity, and type and amount of food taken could be changed.