For too many Americans, 2020 will go down as a horrible year.

You know the main outlines of the story: Millions were infected with a debilitating coronavirus. The infection killed hundreds of thousands of Americans, leaving loved ones and friends shrouded in grief.

The unchecked virus slammed the economy, with tens of millions of jobs lost and businesses shut, some forever.

Too many of us had work-provided health insurance ripped away, while fear of infection led patients in droves to stay away from medical care, whether preventive or treatment for chronic conditions.

Medical scientists have struggled to get ahead of the SARS-COV2 virus and to counsel Americans on how to protect themselves from it. A shambolic federal response to the disease may have worsened the infection’s consequences.