Dec. 27 (UPI) — The year 2021 was arguably one of the biggest news years in recent memory, with a number of major stories emerging over the 12 months on the calendar — COVID-19, the attack at the U.S. Capitol, a presidential transition, social unrest, the end of more than two decades of war in the Middle East, and much more.

The novel coronavirus, first reported in China in late 2019, continued to make its presence known this year, despite hopes that multiple vaccines would bring a return to normalcy.

Unfortunately, as a new variant of concern, Omicron, has  in recent weeks, the United States is bracing for yet another spike in cases to close out the year and open 2022.

Also in 2021, the world staged the Summer Olympics after a historic hiatus, major weather disasters bookended the year and changes to Texas’ abortion law could upend a nearly 50-year-old landmark ruling.

COVID-19 — year twoTrixie, an 8-year-old resident of the Upper West Side of Manhattan, is held as she receives a COVID-19 vaccine at the American Museum of Natural History in New York City on November 9. File Photo by John Angelillo/UPI

The year began in the middle of the worst spike to date of COVID-19 cases in the United States. The country recorded its single-highest number of daily cases on Jan. 8, with more than 294,000 cases, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

That was less than one month after the country began administering the first doses of COVID-19 vaccine — initially limited to healthcare professionals, the elderly and those with compromised immune systems.

Millions of Americans received jabs during those first handful of months of 2021, coinciding with a precipitous drop in daily cases and deaths that lasted into the summer. Cases bottomed out in late June to figures not seen since March 2020, giving many the impression the country — and indeed the world — had finally made it to the other side of the pandemic.

Life was beginning to return to normal, with travel picking back up in some regions of the world and restrictions being lifted. In-person events such as concerts, theater and movie screenings returned, and stadiums and arenas were once again full for sporting events. Children returned to school without masks in many states.

Then public health officials designated Delta as a COVID-19 variant of concern. The more infectious strain of the virus quickly spread and became the dominant version of COVID-19 in the United States, causing case numbers to rise again through the fall.

After a dip in cases in September and October, figures began rising again in November with the emergence of the highly infectious Omicron variant. The fall also saw the expansion of vaccine approval for younger children and booster shots for those who’d previously been fully vaccinated.

President Joe Biden announced that beginning in the new year, the United States plans to further fight the pandemic with the release of 500 million free at-home testing kits and military help at over-burdened hospitals.

U.S. Capitol attacked for first time since 1814