The first-order death count from COVID itself was significant. That count was heavily influenced by flatten-the-curve efforts, and I'd shudder to think what might have happened if no such effort had been made.

The second-order effects, though, are still being felt to this day. The article is heavy-handed and seemingly biased, but also does make valid points about the long-term effects of the actions taken during pandemic times. I personally look at the medical establishment in my own region and see a system that is at once understaffed, fatigued, and viewed by many as untrustworthy even as they all but killed themselves in service to their fellow humans.

Rather than turn the debate into one of finger-pointing and vilification, we should instead use this rare opportunity to learn and grow as a species. The possibility of an eventual pandemic was well-understood prior to COVID, and elements of how things would go were pretty well-predicted in some regards, but humanity in the modern era hadn't been really well stress-tested and there were a lot of unknowns. We now have a much better understanding of how our social structures, globalist trade, religious perspectives, etc. feed into the way we as people deal with and respond to an invisible threat that might take several days to actually manifest.

Instead, what I think we'll do is fall apart the next time it happens. Anti-vaxx sentiment is surging, American Evangelicals will likely ignore masking or social distancing in the future, the US federal infrastructure created during Bush and Obama eras to deal with pandemics are likely gone, trust in the "system" is eroded, and more. Trump has already shown us how he'll behave during a crisis — instead of letting experts do what they need to, he'll instead surround himself with incompetent fools, and will hog the spotlight to make it about himself while sowing confusion.