Vaccines (less snarky)

We knew enough to do things like stockpiling PPE and syringes, but we failed to fund them. That was bad.

We didn't think about how our laws, regulations, supply chains, and other organizational factors would need to be prepared for a pandemic, because we failed to imagine one, even with examples like World War Z right in front of us.  That was worse.

In countries with unelected governments, laws and regulations didn't much matter, because they could be revised at Internet speed to meet the needs of the moment.  (I grant that dictatorships are often delusional at the top, but authoritarian governments aren't necessarily more delusional than elected ones.)  In countries with elected governments, we let our laws and regulations and traditions of freedom and individual rights get in the way of an effective response to the pandemic. The result has given freedom, democracy, and rule of law a bad name.  That may have been worse yet.

I would like to believe that humans will learn from this tragedy and emerge saner and stronger.  Yes, I very much want to believe that.  But even more, I want it to be true.