When mass vaccinations began in December 2020, it looked like Covid-19 was finally beaten and life would return to normal.
Instead 2021 came and went and we are now starting 2022 facing rocketing infections.
Thankfully, there is reason to be optimistic.
Omicron appears to be weaker and this, combined with high vaccination rates, means far fewer people are becoming seriously ill and dying.
Boris Johnson has decided to take what could be the biggest gamble of his career and has refused to impose new restrictions.
Nicola Sturgeon has, unsurprisingly, taken the opposite approach and curtailed the hospitality industry, told people to stay at home where possible and maintained a 10-day isolation period for infected people and their close contacts.
It is as yet unclear which strategy is best but both could have catastrophic repercussions.
If Johnson has got it wrong, the NHS in England could be overwhelmed.
But equally, if Sturgeon is being too cautious, she could be unnecessarily fuelling a dangerous NHS staffing crisis, which will damage health more in the long term while forcing an economic hit from which the country will take years to recover.
In this high-stakes environment, it is crucial that both the public and opposition politicians have all the information possible to fully scrutinise decisions.
But, as things stand, that information simply isn’t forthcoming.
Data showing how many patients are being directly treated for Covid-19 in hospital, as well as the scientific reasoning behind the decision to maintain the 10-day isolation period, have not been released.
Meanwhile, the ever-changing guidance on what people can and can’t do in their daily lives gets more difficult to understand by the day.
The challenges being faced are unprecedented and it would be unfair to expect ministers to get it right every time.
But people have a right to expect clear messages and that government policy is being driven purely by the science and not political expediency.
Don't miss the latest news from around Scotland and beyond - Sign up to our daily newsletter here .
