Can you sit back at the start of a pandemic and wait a year or two, and then slowly start pondering if a few million for a contact tracing app would be worth it

Can you sit back at the start of a pandemic and wait a year or two, and then slowly start pondering if a few million for a contact tracing app would be worth it? To put the number in context, "The Australian Government has invested over $8 billion in the national COVID-19 vaccine rollout. We have also invested over $350 million in vaccine research and development."