It is worth all of those things... when you have a novel pandemic to blunt.
However, once the disease is characterized, you have effective treatments and protocols for the most sick, and you have decent rates of vaccination and recent infection... needs shift.
The critical factor is {max hospital ICU capacity} + 1 more seriously ill person, and when you're dealing with exponential growth rates and a virgin population, that can be hit pretty easily.
The fact that we didn't (in most parts of the world, for most of the time) is a triumph of modern health policy.
However, once the disease is characterized, you have effective treatments and protocols for the most sick, and you have decent rates of vaccination and recent infection... needs shift.
The critical factor is {max hospital ICU capacity} + 1 more seriously ill person, and when you're dealing with exponential growth rates and a virgin population, that can be hit pretty easily.
The fact that we didn't (in most parts of the world, for most of the time) is a triumph of modern health policy.