It's my understanding that there's some room to be skeptical about the value of the lockdowns after a certain point and costs are undeniable. But for a period of time hospitals were basically overrun and medical staff were pushed way past the limit. To do any less would have been utter disregard for human life and the people who were trying to keep us alive. There were huge outbreaks in specific areas because people decided to ignore it and have a wedding or a party. So many videos of rebellious people on social media only to follow up with another video a few weeks later gasping for breath in a hospital room.

Most people didn't do that, and the people on the front line held it together despite the insanity. With vaccines brought the opportunity to open up more safely, and it seems like many places found a responsible balance in doing that based on available hospital capacity. And it seems like others took a more cautious approach and it is a fair question whether it went too far.