Embedded Files
*Before digging into the information on this page, please read the narrative provided in the Annual Context Overview where you will find an important explanation that contextualizes the contextual information!
2022 SURVEY CONTEXT
The 2022 survey was fielded throughout mid-January to mid-February. We list here factors that occurred the year prior and up through the survey period. Accordingly, for the 2022 survey the contextual factors presented range from January 2021 - February 2022, in loose chronological order.
“Vax” was the Oxford word of the year but frustration with the pandemic and denial of the existence of COVID-19 still played a major role
Global numbers of Covid-19 deaths well beyond 2 million in January 2021
People leaned toward hope of coming out of the COVID-19 pandemic, yet frustration was evident as many news headlines and leaders were talking of “getting back to normal”
Supply chain issues continued around the globe
COVID-19 vaccines were administered around the world, but access wasn’t available to all
As of September of 2021, 1 in 500 Americans died of COVID-19
Fatal drug overdose deaths surged during Covid-19, driven primarily by fentanyl, methamphetamine, and cocaine
Global climate crisis even more pressing; UN Secretary General conveyed a “code red for humanity”
Authoritarian governments continue to rise amidst increasing concern about the erosion of democracy
More than 1,000 major fires burned in the Brazilian Amazon rainforest
SpaceX and billionaires took flight to space
Non-fungible tokens (NFTs) became popular
President Trump and many of his supporters refused to accept the presidential defeat and some of his supporters continued to seek ways to overturn election results (Jan 2021)
Jan. 6th insurrection on the US Capitol
President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris took office alongside continued claims of a fraudulent election from Trump and some of his supporters (Jan 2021)
Rep. Nancy Pelosi reelected as House Speaker (Jan 2021)
A Kentucky police department fired two detectives linked to the fatal shooting of Breonna Taylor (Jan 2021)
A Wisconsin county district attorney determined that a police officer would not face charges in the shooting of Jacob Blake (Jan 2021)
President Biden signed an executive order to repeal a Trump-administration ban on most transgender Americans joining the military (Jan 2021)
Former President Trump’s second impeachment trial began; the Senate voted to acquit (Feb 2021)
As winter storms and freezing temperatures blasted across Texas, leaving millions in a state of emergency, Texas Senator Ted Cruz faced backlash because of departing to Cancun, Mexico (Feb 2021)
US surpasses 500,000 deaths from COVID-19 (Feb 2021)
President Biden signed the American Rescue Plan that provided a $1.9 trillion Covid-19 economic relief package (Mar 2021)
The city of Minneapolis agreed to pay the estate of George Floyd $27 million after the city council unanimously voted to settle a lawsuit with Floyd’s family (Mar 2021)
A gunman killed eight people, including six Asian women, at three Atlanta-area spas (Mar 2021)
A gunman killed ten people, including a Boulder police officer, at a supermarket in Boulder, Colorado (Mar 2021)
Georgia passed an election bill that imposed new voter identification requirements for absentee ballots, empowered state officials to take over local election boards, limited the use of ballot drop boxes and made it illegal to approach voters in line to give them food and water (Mar 2021)
Oprah Winfrey interviewed Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, and Prince Harry, during which the couple criticize Britain’s royal institution and explain why they left royal life (Mar 2021)
Daunte Wright was shot and killed by a Minnesota police officer during a traffic stop; the officer was eventually found guilty of first- and second-degree manslaughter (Mar 2021)
Large container ship got stuck in Suez Canal, further contributing to supply chain issues (Mar 2021)
Former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin was found guilty of all three charges against him in the killing of George Floyd (Apr 2021)
Russian cyberattack forced the closure of the Colonial Pipeline, disrupting the delivery of gasoline in the eastern United States (May 2021)
US surpassed 100,000 Covid-19 deaths (May 2021)
House Republicans ousted Rep. Liz Cheney from her leadership position because she publicly rejected Trump’s claim that he won the 2020 presidential election (May 2021)
President Biden signed legislation aimed to counter a rise in anti-Asian hate crimes during the Covid-19 pandemic (May 2021)
The Senate confirmed Kristen Clarke as the first woman, and the first woman of color, to lead the Justice Department’s Civil Rights division (May 2021)
President Biden signed legislation that established June 19 as Juneteenth National Independence Day, a federal holiday that commemorates the end of slavery in the US (June 2021)
Pennsylvania’s highest court overturned Bill Cosby’s 2018 sexual assault conviction, ruling that his due process rights were violated (July 2021)
The House select committee investigating the Jan. 6 insurrection at the Capitol held its first hearing (July 2021)
Summer Olympics, postponed from 2020, took place in Japan with few spectators (July-Aug 2021)
New York’s Democratic Gov. Andrew Cuomo resigned after it was found that he sexually harassed 11 women and created a “hostile” work environment; he was replaced by Kathy Hochul, New York’s first female governor (Aug 2021)
Explosion outside the Kabul airport; US and other countries worked to evacuate their citizens and Afghans at risk from the Taliban; 13 US service members and dozens of Afghan citizens were killed (Aug 2021)
US withdrew the last of its troops from Afghanistan and the Taliban took over (Aug 2021)
Texas passed the Texas Heartbeat Act which made abortion illegal after 6-weeks (Sept 2021)
Mexico’s Supreme Court unanimously ruled that penalizing abortion is unconstitutional (Sept 2021)
Booster doses of Covid-19 vaccine began to be offered (Sept 2021)
Germany’s left-leaning Social Democratic Party narrowly won the largest share of parliamentary seats (Sept 2021)
Facebook Files released by a whistleblower, showing evidence the company was aware of various harms caused by its apps (Oct 2021)
World Health Organization recommended a vaccine for Malaria for the first time (Oct 2021)
US Congress passed a $1.2 trillion bipartisan infrastructure bill that President Biden signed into law (Nov 2021)
US reopens its borders to vaccinated international travelers, ending a 20-month travel ban (Nov 2021)
Vehicle plowed into a Christmas parade in Wisconsin, killing six people and injuring more than 60 (Nov 2021)
Three police officers found guilty of murder of Ahmaud Arbery (Nov 2021)
A 15-year-old opened fire at a Michigan high school, killing four students and injuring seven others (Nov 2021)
COVID-19 Delta variant was prolific by Nov 2021, and Omicron wave in Dec 2021
US surpassed 800,000 Covid-19 deaths (Dec 2021)
Olaf Scholz sworn in as Chancellor of Germany; coalition formed between the center-left Social Democratic Party, the Greens and pro-business Free Democrats (Dec 2021)
Russia-Ukraine conflict heightened in late 2021; Russia launched an attack to invade Ukraine in Feb 2022
Under the Biden administration, the US returned to Paris Climate Agreement and World Health Organization, and canceled the Keystone Pipeline, among other reversals of Trump administration policies
US Supreme Court blocked President Biden's vaccine and testing requirement aimed at large businesses, but allowed a vaccine mandate for certain health care workers to go into effect nationwide (Jan 2022)
Truth Social, a social media app similar to Twitter and owned by Trump Media and Technology Group, went live (Feb 2022)
Page updated
Report abuse