Jesse James
Well, 2022 is right around the corner; believe it or not. With the new year on the horizon, the good folks over at Merriam-Webster are back, and they return to unveil the 2021 Word of the Year: “Vaccine.” The word was selected based on the lookup volume, the increase in interest in “Vaccine” as the year progressed, and yearly increases in searches. Peter Sokolowski, Merriam-Webster’s Editor at Large, released a statement regarding the word of the year.
The statement reads: “Vaccine lookups increased 600%, and the story is about much more than medicine.” Mr. Sokolowski added, “It was at the center of debates about personal choice, political affiliation, professional regulations, school safety, healthcare inequity, and so much more. The biggest science event of the year quickly became the biggest political debate in our country, and the word at the center of both stories is vaccine. Few words can express so much about one moment in time.”
Lookups for “Vaccine” increased on the website by 1,048% compared to 2019 and saw a 535% jump in August as countries began to administer the COVID-19 vaccines. Earlier this year, Merriam-Webster also updated its meaning of “Vaccine” due to new research and added the function of mRNA technology. Sokolowski spoke with CNN and said, “The ‘messenger RNA vaccine’ was new to me, I had never heard of it, and unless you were a research scientist, you probably haven’t.”
He added, “Therefore, the dictionary didn’t even cover a definition.” 2021 has been another interesting year of change and adaptation. Here’s to 2022 and a better year, hopefully, a smoother year for all of us.
Photos via Daniel Schludi/Unsplash
