And yet there have been extraordinary reasons to be hopeful.
Deaths from Covid-19 are down by more than a third thanks to innovations in treatment and intensive care techniques. Several safe and effective vaccines have been developed at lightning speed.
Meanwhile, scientists have been quietly chipping away at other health problems, too.
While the world s attention was focused on the latest testing fiasco, or the efficacy of masks, the medical community was making remarkable strides forward.
From pioneering treatments to help disabled children walk again, to a cure for common blood diseases, to cancer drugs that give terminal patients years extra to live – 2020 has delivered a swathe of advances to be celebrated.