Last month, I wrote about how good it felt to bid 2020 adieu and to welcome in 2021. It was a tentative hope, however, as I knew we still weren’t out of the woods with the COVID-19 pandemic. We were warned by health officials that we were in for a “dark winter.”

Then came the Jan. 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol in addition to the pandemic. I thought perhaps 2021 would (gasp!) be even worse than 2020.

But a few weeks later, I’m breathing a sigh of relief.

First of all, relief that there was a peaceful transfer of power Jan. 20, as Joe Biden and Kamala Harris took the oaths of office.

And relief that the COVID-19 case positivity rate and hospitalizations began to fall. Region 8 was able to move into Tier 1 mitigations, which meant the official return of indoor dining. It has been so exciting to see the restaurants in our communities welcome us back with open arms.

Our libraries have reopened for indoor service, and local park districts are filling their calendars with programs for both children and adults. Many students have returned to their classrooms. at least on a part-time basis, and school districts continue to build on the progress they’ve made keeping students and staff safe. I’m hopeful they can soon begin to examine the possibility of bringing students back full time this academic year. These are all important milestones on the seemingly never-ending journey to put the pandemic behind us once and for all.

Perhaps the biggest reason I have hope is that while the rollout of the COVID-19 vaccine has been slower than expected in many places, the Kane County Health Department soon will begin vaccinating group 1b, which includes individuals over age 65. According to kanehealth.com, local senior citizens can begin making appointments as soon as this week to receive their first shots. The health department has administered almost 22,000 vaccines thus far, and seniors will be able to visit one of 40 provider sites to receive their vaccines.

While this is certainly good news that progress is being made for vaccine distribution, we still have a long way to go before we return to life before the pandemic. Vaccines most likely won’t be available to everyone for several more months.

Indeed, we have made progress in lowering infection rates in Kane County. We were in a similar place in the summer, when we were able to enjoy meals in restaurants, before cases spiked. Now, as the vaccine will become available to more and more people, I have a renewed sense of hope that we’re well on our way to ending this worldwide nightmare.

We’re not there yet, but every day we move one day closer to a return of normalcy, whatever that may be in 2021. And that’s a big relief.