I don't want to rehash old discussion too much, but even in April 2020 we knew the prevalence (Ioannidis) and risk by age, along with existing pandemic plans that had been created to deal with pandemics of this magnitude. People forget the precautionary principle is exactly for these occasions: be cautious of all the side effects when making massive society wide changes. Not to do nothing but to be cautious.

Do I agree Covid was serious and that we needed action at that time? Yes, absolutely. Not a denialist. I'm just more a fan of getting clear data and educating to empower.

The problem with overreaction via laws and regulations is that lawmakers rarely get bothered to remove them. For instance, many of the extreme cleaning regulations to stop fomite transmission are still around. To you and me this may not be a big deal, but it is to low wage workers who had this thrown on them on top of overwork. It kills the soul to be doing useless actions over and over - in fact it's a known way of breaking the spirit. In virtual isolation those in power were completely disconnected from the realities of the those struggling, and as a result we're dangerously polarized.