Government policies almost always have unseen, unintended, and unhappy consequences. Frederic Bastiat said that good economists would contemplate such eventualities before advocating government action whereas bad economists thought only about the immediate and visible consequences.
That’s as true about Covid policy as anything else. Those who demanded and got heavy-handed lockdowns and vaccine mandates never bothered to think about the possibility that their approaches might have severe adverse consequences. They were (and remain) hostile towards anyone who argued that they were doing more harm than good.
Now it is becoming increasingly evident that the authoritarian “zero Covid” obsession has done immense social damage. Consider, e.g., this story in Canada’s National Post by Sabrina Maddeaux, “Lockdowns are Killing Young Canadians.”
Hat tip: Don Boudreaux
