The author, who you seem to consider an authority, has also written an entire book on COVID statistics. It's central theme seems to be contrary to your point.

The author, who you seem to consider an authority, has also written an entire book on COVID statistics. It's central theme seems to be contrary to your point. The book is titled "Covid by Numbers: Making Sense of the Pandemic with Data". I've only skimmed it, but it seems to be well regarded.