I don’t think lockdowns cut the flu season short - how would they stop flu but not COVID in March? School shootings are not an appreciable cause of excess death, firearm deaths are mostly suicides which probably went up not down, similar to overdose deaths.
More starkly, visits to the ER for strokes and heart attacks plummeted during lockdown. But there weren’t actually fewer strokes and heart attacks. Many of those people just died at home.
In short, no one can say how many of excess deaths were COVID vs lockdown deaths, but it certainly isn’t the case that the “lockdown”‘category is actually a net negative.
More starkly, visits to the ER for strokes and heart attacks plummeted during lockdown. But there weren’t actually fewer strokes and heart attacks. Many of those people just died at home.
In short, no one can say how many of excess deaths were COVID vs lockdown deaths, but it certainly isn’t the case that the “lockdown”‘category is actually a net negative.