At the start, had it been handled differently, and not politicized by both parties, and the current president at the time had actually taken it seriously, I think we'd be in a much better position. Albeit Trump might have won a second term so maybe not. Either way both parties hoped on this quick af to weaponize it against each other as well as using it to test how far they can over step boundaries before citizens say "whoa, uh no, that ain't happening". Speaking for the US only here btw. I certainly don't buy into the whole "covid being planned" conspiracy. I do believe that a lot of wealthy and powerful people were quick to find ways to take advantage of the situation though to further increase their wealth or strength their power spot. The unfortunate division that has occurred in the US has both sides acting out in extremes. Politicians, instead of holding high the qualities of true leaders, have sunk so low as to play into their sides voters. Republicans spreading the most insane bullshit "theories" as fact and truth and democrats are skirting on draconian law with mandates and pretty much villainizing anyone that has doubts about getting vaccinated. Yes some, er most, of the anti-vax crew are delusional in their beliefs but theres also a grouping of people that aren't antivax but also have zero trust in their government and big pharama. I'm mean neither one has the greatest track record when it comes to public safety. Personally I haven't gotten vaccinated yet not because I'm antivax(grew in a military family then joined the military so I've likely had every vaccine known to humanity) but I have reservations about something that was rushed out so quickly and the government is pushing hot and heavy abs and anyone that brings up any concerns or mentions potential for side effects or people that have come forward with side effects are quickly dismissed/silenced and made to look crazy. Even Google has manipulated its search results to hide any information that could be considered negative towards the vaccine. I'm not so sure I'd go as far to loose my job over it but for the time being I've no problem waiting as long as I can for myself and my kid.
But honestly the virus and vaccine are the absolute least of our problems. The housing market is out of control atm and housing is the most expensive I've ever seen it. And from what I've been told it's a country wide issue. Companies like Blackrock are buying property in mass, over paying asking prices even, just to turn them into rental property. On top of that this back up of cargo ships is about to slap everyone in the face with some harsh reality. A shortage of truck drivers and dock hands have slowed crate unloading by dangerous amounts of time. Because capitalism turned us into mass consumers we sent the majority of our production overseas meaning it all needs to come back here by ship. Well that ain't working so well. You ain't seen crazy until shelves are empty for a couple weeks. Wait until the middle to upper middle class are learning what the struggle is really like down here in poverty town. But they'll drop that socialism/communism stick real quick and start yelling for free health care and affordable housing with the rest of us. Wait till people are out Christmas shopping and there's nothing on the shelves. Bet, there's more than one story this year of someone getting stabbed, shot, or beaten because two people were fighting over the last item on the shelf. I don't know if I wanna be excited or scared. A large economic crash seems inevitable though from this point in time. Remember back in 08? The only reason it wasn't super bad is because China bailed is out. But this year China is dealing with its own crash so likely they ain't gonna be bailing us out again.
My advice, if you have guns, stock up on ammo. If you got a basement/storage space. Start filling it with non perishable dry foods and bottled water. Get to know you town/city/neighbor and have multiple escape routes planed out. If you can get out of the city and into the suburbs, do it now. If you ain't got a pot to piss in and zero survival skills, or you're at least not ready to commit murder, now would be a good time to start studying. Take advantage of the internet now just in case there's an infrastructure issue or a cyber attack. Just at least be prepared in case shit goes down and have at least a couple weeks worth of food stored up.