After a year lost to Covid-19, there were great expectations for 2021: Vaccines were on the cusp of being delivered, economies were predicted to storm back from the pandemic and a new leader of the West was about to be sworn in to the White House with a promise of reconciliation. Maybe, just maybe, we’d emerge into a new and better world.

What came to pass instead was more disruption, uncertainty and a sense of fragility that’s beginning to look like the new normal.

The narrative from many political leaders is that the worst is over from a catastrophe that has now claimed more than 5 million lives and ripped up those of many tens of millions more through illness, financial hardship and grief. Yet just as one Covid-19 strain fades, another emerges that changes the calculus again. We started the year with the Greek letter alpha, then delta wreaked havoc. The latest threat could be from omicron.

Stock markets still boomed, house prices soared and the U.S.—finally—opened up to international visitors. Even the troubles of Chinese property giant Evergrande or the knock-on effect of soaring oil and commodities prices couldn’t seem to derail investor exuberance. But new divisions and challenges emerged that are sure to define the year ahead.

The most striking is between the vaccinated and unvaccinated, whether because of geography and availability or simply choice. The coronavirus has entered another wave as the northern hemisphere heads into winter. While poorer parts of the world are still waiting for shots, the U.S. and Europe are confronted by a vocal minority that refuses them.

Governments are increasingly tightening the screws on the holdouts. Tougher restrictions triggered protests after people were barred from restaurants or—more dramatically—their jobs.

Other weaknesses were exposed, too. As economies roared back to life, supply chains buckled because of shortages either of goods or people to deliver them. The squeeze on the labor market pushed up wages, but the cost of everything from food to heating is weighing on households, and there are few signs this will change in the coming months. Welcome to a new era of inflation.

In the world of geopolitics, tension between the U.S. and China was the dominant theme and is likely to remain so in 2022. Yet other hotspots look more acutely dangerous right now. Russia’s intentions toward Ukraine are raising concerns, and there have been disturbing scenes involving refugees headed to Europe in Belarus and in the English Channel.

This was also the year climate change summoned the political will to act. COP26 in Scotland did more than many people expected, though yet less than many wanted. The urgency became more palpable as fires, drought and flooding scarred more of the planet.

Finally, 2021 was the year that the esoteric world of crypto went mainstream. It became an asset the financial world could no longer deride. Yet here, too, the divide between believers and skeptics may have gotten broader and deeper.