Dear AJPM Reader,

As we start the New Year - and approach the third year of the COVID-19 pandemic - we wish to take a moment to reflect on the past and look forward to the future.

On the journal front, AJPM continued to have a busy year, surpassing 2,000 manuscripts submitted for the second year in a row while also publishing more than 350 articles encompassing the full spectrum of preventive medicine and public health topics. These include 34 articles related to COVID-19 (plus more in press), from weight gain among children during the pandemic to racial disparities in COVID-19 outcomes to the effects of the pandemic on screening for other infectious diseases. We also achieved AJPM's highest Impact Factor in its 37-year history, with a 2020 score of 5.043.

On the broader stage, there has been great progress in combatting the COVID-19 pandemic, with the development and administration of vaccines, recent approval of new antivirals, and a greatly increased understanding of the disease and its clinical management. That said, the current Omicron wave makes clear the need for increased vaccine equity on a global scale and a much-needed depoliticization of COVID-19 risk mitigation measures. 

We look forward with hope for what the coming year will bring. In the meantime, we hope you find our January 2022 issue to be timely, topical, and informative.

Yours in prevention and health,