There really was no escaping this word in the past 12 months — Merriam-Webster has picked “vaccine” as the 2021 word of the year.

Merriam-Webster’s editor-at-large told the Associated Press, “It really represents two different stories. One is the science story, which is this remarkable speed with which the vaccines were developed.

But there’s also the debates regarding policy, politics, and political affiliation. It’s one word that carries these two huge stories.”

Other runner-ups for the 2021 word of the year: insurrection, infrastructure, and woke (political correctness).