COVID-19
If in 2020 the COVID-19 pandemic challenged the scientific community, putting research and education on hold and placing lives at risk, 2021 offered some hope despite the world still very much in the grips of the pandemic. As we head into 2022, many nations across the globe are in the process of rolling out their COVID-19 vaccination programs while simultaneously tackling new emerging variants of the virus through regular updated diagnostics (there have of course been disparities in the global response and although it is a topic beyond this discussion, one we must keep in mind).
These are landmark events that go on to highlight the importance of the scientific and bioanalytical community, with timely work and discussions shifting towards safe and patient-centric sampling procedures, development of diagnostic assays, and supporting various stages of the vaccine-development process.