The stated goal of lockdowns was to "flatten the curve." The working assumption was that the virus would become endemic no matter what we tried, but by limitin

The stated goal of lockdowns was to "flatten the curve." The working assumption was that the virus would become endemic no matter what we tried, but by limiting interpersonal contact, we could decrease the rate of hospitalization to a manageable level. It is not reasonable to declare the lockdowns a total failure because they didn't achieve a goal they weren't intended to solve.