The Year End Review: Five Biggest Stories of 2021

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As the last days of 2021 draw near, it would be fitting to place yet another pandemic year under the metaphorical microscope. In the midst of mounting COVID-19 cases and the global inoculation drive, 2021 can be effectively summed up by the following five key moments that has defined this year:

1. GameStop Stock Surge
In January of this year, Wall Street was hit by the sudden surge in the stocks of GameStop whose share prices rose from $5 to about $350. This peak is said to have collectively cost short sellers $26 billion.

2. The Swearing-in of U.S. President Joe Biden
After a tumultuous four years under former President Donald Trump’s rule, Joe Biden’s swearing-in ceremony as the 46th President of the United States marked a new chapter in the history of the country with the election of Kamala Harris as the first woman and the first woman of mixed racial heritage to become the U.S. Vice President.

3. The Emergence of NFTs
2021 can also be credited as the year that saw the introduction of non-fungible tokens (NFTs) as another form of cryptocurrency in the ever-evolving realm of digital money. NFTs have since been associated with a number of tangible as well as non-tangible products such as digital art, tweets, etc.

4. The Impact of Ever Given on the global supply chain
Ever Given’s blockage of the Suez Canal and the resulting effects on the global supply chain has been yet another notable event of this year. The nearly-200,000 ton vessel had been transporting 18,000 containers of goods when it unexpectedly got stuck in the Suez Canal, unintentionally blocking the route to 400 other ships, which had a significant impact on the global supply chain that had already been reeling under the economic consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic.

5. Vaccines against COVID-19
After nearly one and a half years of uncertainty, vaccines, namely by Pfizer-BioNTech, Moderna, and Johnson & Johnson, were made available to the public in the world’s collective fight against COVID-19. Since then skepticism over its effectiveness, shortages, and booster shots have dominated the narrative surrounding vaccines.