2021 was a devastating year for Vietnam, with the worst-ever COVID-19 outbreak hitting all of the country's provinces and cities and spreading moments of sorrow, despair, love, and hope.

It is thus not surprising that the list of Vietnam’s highlight moments this year is dominated by pandemic-related incidents.

The fourth and worst COVID-19 wave began on April 27 and has so far caused over 1.7 million infections across all 63 provinces and cities in the country.

Since the pandemic first hit the country early last year, Vietnam has logged 1,714,742 COVID-19-positive cases and over 32,100 deaths.

Though the pandemic brought pain and loss to families across the country, it also reminded the Vietnamese people of their resolve and willingness to care for one another, even in the toughest of times.

Citizens across Vietnam spent the year joining hands with local authorities to survive months of lockdown in order to reach a ‘new normal’ that is meant to allow people to live safely with COVID-19.

As of Thursday, over 77.5 million of the country’s 98 million people have received at least one dose while more than 67.7 million have been jabbed twice.

Here are the highlight of 2021, captured through the lenses of Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper reporters:

A border guard officer in Ha Giang Province on night patrol in 0-degree Celsius weather. Many people entered Vietnam illegally during the fourth COVID-19 outbreak, hindering the country’s pandemic prevention and control. Photo: Nam Tran / Tuoi Tre

An ambulance travels along an empty street in District 10, Ho Chi Minh City at 7:00 pm on July 27, 2021, after municipal authorities began enforcing a movement restriction order after 6:00 pm to curb the pandemic. Photo: Quang Dinh / Tuoi Tre

Health workers transport a deceased COVID-19 patient at the COVID-19 Resuscitation Hospital in Thu Duc City, Ho Chi Minh City. Photo: Duyen Phan / Tuoi Tre

Health workers take a COVID-19 patient who is suffering from difficulty breathing to the hospital in Nha Ba District, Ho Chi Minh City. Photo: Tu Trung / Tuoi Tre

A man carries his elderly family member to a vaccination site in Hanoi, September 12, 2021. Photo: Nguyen Khanh / Tuoi Tre

Thousands receive COVID-19 vaccine doses at Phu Tho Stadium in District 11, Ho Chi Minh City. Photo: Quang Dinh / Tuoi Tre

A little girl and her family are brought to a concentrated quarantine facility after coming into direct contact with a COVID-19 patient in Thanh Xuan District, Hanoi. Photo: Nguyen Khanh / Tuoi Tre

Vietnamese Saxophonist Tran Manh Tuan performs a song to doctors and patients at a makeshift COVID-19 hospital in Ho Chi Minh City. Photo: Ngo Tran Hai An / Tuoi Tre

Huynh Quang Nhat Long (L) delivers an oxygen tank to a COVID-19 patient at an isolated area in Ho Chi Minh City. Photo: Duyen Phan / Tuoi Tre

Dr. Tran Thanh Linh has red marks on his face and neck after wearing face masks for long hours at Cho Ray Hospital in Ho Chi Minh City. Photo: Ngo Tran Hai An / Tuoi Tre

Merchants provide their phone numbers as markets are closed during a social distancing in Hanoi. Photo: Nam Tran / Tuoi Tre

Military officers disinfect a street in Hanoi in late July 2021. Photo: Nam Tran / Tuoi Tre

A woman bows in front of the ashes of her mother who died of COVID-19 in Ho Chi Minh City. Deceased COVID-19 patients were cremated at Binh Hung Hoa in Binh Tan District before their ashes were taken to their family members. Photo: Thanh Minh / Tuoi Tre

Health workers help a COVID-19 patient deliver a baby at Hung Vuong Hospital in Ho Chi Minh City. Photo: Tu Trung / Tuoi Tre

Students return to class on a trial basis on Thach An Island in Can Gio District, Ho Chi Minh City, October 20, 2021 following months of remote learning. Photo: Quang Dinh / Tuoi Tre

Thousands of fruit-carrying trucks wait for clearance at a border gate between Vietnam’s Son La Province and China in mid-December 2021 as the neighboring country tightens COVID-19 control. Photo: Nam Tran / Tuoi Tre

U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris at a press conference at the end of her business trip to Vietnam from August 24 to 26. Photo: Nguyen Khanh / Tuoi Tre

A shipment of COVID-19 vaccine donated by the U.S. via the COVAX Facility arrives at Noi Bai International Airport in Hanoi in July 2021. Photo: Nam Tran / Tuoi Tre

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