(And doesn’t mean all that excess death was covid - how many from alcohol and drug abuse, increased heart attack and stroke, etc and also likely pulled forward some deaths from this year.
The issue here, is whether the mask-mandate and the lockdowns, for example, make an appreciable change compared to the - as you mentioned - increases in suicides and drug overdoses, as well as the effects a crippled economy, depression, and a variety of other ills.
One can still oppose the lockdowns and mask-mandates as each relatively ineffectual - even more so when compared to their costs - and meanwhile be able to do basic math and see that the disease is a substantial killer, as well as leaving several percent with additional longer-term health issues.
And it was a reasonable thing to try the lockdowns and masking last spring in some areas - but that they were ineffectual seems pretty clear since last May and there is no real excuse for them now.
Agreed