As Dundee residents reflect on the most tumultuous time in a generation, relief that it looks to be coming to an end is at the forefront of most minds.
As well as fears over catching the virus itself, many people have felt isolated during the pandemic after being cut off from family and friends.
Craig Brett, 47, admitted the worst part of the various lockdowns has been how little he has seen of his friends and family, especially his mum and children.
He said: “It’s been very difficult, I haven’t been able to socialise or see my family as much as I normally would.
“It’s had a massive affect on my entire life. I’ve learned more about myself, sitting alone in the house you appreciate the things you had before.
“I’ve dwelled a lot on how important life is.”
Schools have been closed for many months throughout the pandemic, leading to parents having to juggle home schooling and working from home.
For teachers, they have been forced to conduct lessons virtually and adapt to a lack of face time with their pupils.
Karen Henderson, 55, who is a primary school teacher in Dundee, believes, despite a lack of conventional education, children have gathered plenty of life skills along the way.
She said: “Work has changed for me quite significantly. A lot of our lessons have moved online, so that has been a challenge.
“First time round was a real shock to the system because we had no prior warning. This one hasn’t been so bad because we knew it was coming.
“We had things in place and the children were ready for it. But it’s great to have them back in the classroom now.
“I’m a primary teacher and I think, on the bright side, children have learned different things during home schooling like playing board games, baking or looking after the pets.
“Although academically it’s not the same standard, they’ve developed different skills.
“I think, as well, they developed an appreciation for each other because they’re so excited to see their friends when they get to school.”
It hasn’t just been school children whose education was put on hold, as thousands of students in the city were forced to study online and even move back to their home cities until face-to-face lessons resumed.
Nicola Ludwig, a University of Dundee student, had to move back to her family home in Edinburgh and admitted the pandemic has made her appreciate the smaller things in life.
She said: “I think you just realise it’s good to get out of the house a bit more and go for walks where you can.
“It has been really tricky with the restrictions to see family and things like that because people are split between different cities.
“For students in general, it has been hard to adapt to online learning. The Universities are doing the best they can.”
Fellow Dundee Uni student Hannah McKay said getting to see more of her family was one plus point of lockdown.
“I was grateful to have them during that period,” she said.
“We’ve had very little face to face contact in terms of uni, a lot of it has been online and that’s been a struggle.”
Despite all the challenges the past 12 months has brought, residents are now looking forward with a renewed optimism of better days to come.
“It’s been hard for everyone, I’ll just be glad when it’s all over,” said Brian Caswell, 58.
“I’m going to get my vaccine and once it’s done, that’ll be a big weight off my mind.”