Festive cheer may feel in short supply this holiday season amid rising concerns over the spread of a more infectious strain of coronavirus. Yet despite the multitude of miseries the pandemic has inflicted, the year has witnessed extraordinary scientific endeavour. The Christmas period should be not only a time to remember the 1.7m people lost to Covid-19, but to celebrate the resilience and spirit of the human race — and the success of science and technology — in the face of a deadly killer.

Even while much of the world was forced to close down in the spring to halt the spread of the disease, researchers were racing to develop a vaccine. The global health emergency brought about unprecedented collaboration in the form of data sharing and mobilisation of resources between academia, governments, philanthropic organisations and private companies. These initiatives enabled the development of the Covid vaccines that are already being distributed to millions of people. Researchers managed to complete a process that on average takes 10 years in just 10 months — without cutting corners on normal standards of design, testing and manufacture.

Technology has helped economies through the crisis. Advances that would have been unthinkable as recently as the financial crisis 12 years ago allowed governments to all but shutter their economies yet keep vital activity, including that of their financial institutions, alive. The widespread installation of fast broadband and the recent emergence of new online platforms such as Zoom have allowed millions to work from home, and lessened the economic damage.