[jjeaff]

There are examples of masking and lockdowns that could go either way. The part that I am quite certain about saving lives is telling people that you still needed to get the shot even if you had COVID before.

Many more people would have skipped out on getting it because they thought they had COVID. Because their immunity had waned or because they never really had COVID. I personally know someone that didn't get vaccinated because she had COVID previously. She caught it again in the Delta wave and it killed her. She never had a verified diagnosis the first time, so she may not have had it. But, even if she did, getting vaccinated would have likely boosted her immunity.