Covid was a pretty weird virus. I knew some that barely got the sniffles, some that got very ill and hospitalized but recovered (that had no co morbidities), and two that died. When I finally got it, it was rather mild. My wife got pretty sick. Until we reached herd immunity and the virus settled down to a bad cold, it was pretty serious. I think the shutdowns were not managed well and didn't make much sense.

In states that decided no mask mandates (of course non N95 were useless), no social distancing, no shutdowns, etc, outcomes were pretty much the same, according to the CDC.

But let's ask ourselves this, What should the government have done differently given the poorly understood and evolving nature of the virus? Doctors guided the politicians who had the power to shut things down but they were guessing at best at times. If we get a more serious pandemic issue we are screwed because the misinformationalists will start up again on both sides and needless deaths will occur.

I remember talking to many tradesmen during all that who wholeheartedly believed it was all nonsense but had very poor understanding of science or medicine. It became a dubious badge of honor to defiantly walk through crowds while fake coughing and all. Not a great representation of humans.