Walking through the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association (BCBSA) offices feels like stepping back in time. Running shoes lie idle under desks, candy bowls sit untouched and calendars read March for the ninth month in a row. This is a familiar scene for many offices across the U.S. today, as employees abandoned their desks and offices for what we all thought would be a few weeks.

While recent vaccine announcements promise welcome relief, we still face a long road: Cases are rising. Hospitals are filling. There is heightened anxiety, stress and uncertainty in the air. And the coronavirus is just one aspect of a year that has been quite difficult, to say the least. We as a country have contended with fires, hurricanes, racial injustice, civil unrest and a divisive elections cycle.