...people died from COVID. While you are, of course, correct that health-related issues around COVID were ugly at the beginning, the fact is that COVID has had a mortality rate of less than 0.1%. It was also known very early on that would be the case.

Viruses are gonna virus, though, so the only question that matters is what should the policy response have been? And the answer is that the policy response was categorically both awful in absolute terms and far more destructive short- and long-term than the virus itself in relative terms. You actually mentioned one bit of policy fallout in your post that I did not, which are the excess deaths CAUSED by the response due to such things as missed cancer screenings, etc.

I'll leave it at that since I said what I wanted to say in my previous post. Peace out, and I have huge respect for your work as a physician, FWIW.