For the last year, the headline on this column began with the words Week XX.

It was my way of calling attention to the time we spent trying to cope with the pandemic called COVID-19 and its after-effects. This week marks a year since we went to ground. During that year, at least 45,745 Maine residents were infected, and 706 died.

The national statistics are even more staggering. COVID sickened more than 28.9 million Americans. We lost a staggering 524,698 souls.

Do you think that is enough death and disease to put an end to the claims that COVID was a hoax, a passing problem not worth spending much effort to defeat? That it posed no more danger than a mild summer cold?

Our state and local leaders ordered strict measures in response. Some claiming politics rebelled.

COVID was not a hoax to the friends and relatives who lost loved ones, or to local business owners scrambling to find ways to keep the doors open as fearful tourists stayed home.

It was no hoax to seasonal workers depending on tourist tips to keep the oil tank filled. It was not a hoax to the health care workers who performed yeoman service to keep our friends and relatives alive.

It was not a hoax to the elderly closeted in nursing homes, fearing that someone from the outside would bring Mr. COVID in for a visit. It surely was not a hoax to relatives barred from visiting their elderly loved ones who were struggling for another breath.

Many blamed others for COVID. Some blamed the Chinese, the occupant of the White House, or the occupant of the Blaine House. Others blamed the "fake" news media.

In truth, we faced an unknown enemy. The usual remedies didn't work. We couldn't bomb it back into the Stone Age or send in the Marines. We couldn't call the cops for help. We couldn't fix it by pulling “Old Betsy,” the reliable 12 gauge, out of the closet.

Public health experts told us we had to wear masks, wash our hands frequently, stay six feet away from others and avoid crowds. They were simple, routine public health practices that any health care professional would preach.

So, some rebelled. Masks were bothersome. Avoiding crowds meant we couldn't go to the bar, or eat at a restaurant, or send the kids to school. Our constitutional rights were being infringed. We couldn't even go to church and pray for help, although I suspect the Almighty accepts prayers even though they are uttered by those not kneeling in their usual pew.

Our leaders, as usual, blamed each other. The Republicans blamed the Democrats, calling them communists or worse. The Democrats accused the Republicans of being uncaring cads, or worse.

My colleagues in the mainstream press didn't help either, contributing to a partisan echo chamber that magnified everything out of proportion. Knuckleheads on all sides became "experts," demanding our allegiance. Social media platforms, touted as a way for everyone to reach the public without interference from the tyranny of editors, publishers and network pooh-bahs, became a nightmare.

The computer attacked our freedom-loving nation as gaggles of nasty trolls spewed schoolyard taunts and sexual slurs.

I am not even going to get into something known as Q-anon.

Our leaders got into the act, too, posting unseemly tweets, as others used the same platforms to scam the unknowing.

Parents and teachers warned their children to avoid posting anything online they didn't want their grandmother to view. Many ignored this advice, as usual.

I suppose some of the uninvited guests who splashed selfies all over the web to mark their visit to the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6 may have had, or are now having, second thoughts, too.

In the end, it looks like Big Pharma's good old American hard work and first-rate science produced the key. Today, we see steady streams of seniors waiting for a shot that might keep them alive long enough to hug giggling grandkids one more time.

While there are still folks out there who claim vaccines are bad by definition, others are using wealth and influence to jump the line for a shot of vaccine.

As inoculation rates climb, our leaders are starting to ease restrictions. I hope they are not doing their calculations by looking into the hurricane's eye as the next wave of terror waits nearby.

In the end, it looks like the science nerds, those who did their homework and soaked up knowledge, may lead us back to prosperity.

Then maybe, just maybe, all this political and personal cacophony will just fade away into the sunset, and peace and love will prevail.

Sure it will.