From what I've seen, we have failed utterly in protecting vulnerable people. The focus on blanket lockdowns and enforcing silly rules has distracted from hygiene measures that actually could have kept vulnerable people safe. Where I am, almost all the deaths have been in nursing homes, which were a hotbed for covid cases. Fining kids for having a picnic in the park did nothing to stop that, but that is what people liked to focus on because it fits the overall culture that has formed around covid.