There is all manner of hinky stuff with this pandemic. The news reports “only novel virus pandemic since 1917!”) Not true. See CDC. Pandemics of 1957 and 1968 were comparable to this one.
The governments’ reactions (worldwide) could certainly be contrived over-reaction. The bug, well, those things pop up evey 20-40 years. Pretty normal state of nature.
2009’s H1N1 “Swine Flu” was comparable as well. Thousands of Americans perished, but that was the Obama Administration, where the media made sure nothing bad should ever, ever happen. And so life went on as usual.