the best hope is that when everyone is vaccinated life can return to normal with deaths at a minimum
I respectfully disagree. Already of the three variants of COVID has been found to have no less than 23 mutations. Each variant with it's multitude of mutations will be used as the excuse of the day to tighten down the restrictions, the mask mandates, the mandates about who you can be around, when you can be around them, and where you can go.
IMO, the best hope is for people to finally get a backbone and realize government is NOT your nanny, and does nothing FOR their citizens. The sole purpose of government is to grow government.