for most of us the bottom line is get vaccinated, and then get back to normal life.
Completely agree with this - but I think it will be a new normal, emphasising good hygiene more than we used to, which is no bad thing anyway - witness the dramatic reduction/eradication of flu cases.
Accepting that not all the 117,000 died of Covid, it remains that excess deaths are at around 98,000, ie that many people have died who would not normally be expected to do so. If these deaths were not caused by Covid, then what?
Accepting your estimate of 2 million true cases leaves a death rate of 4.9%, which indicates that C19 really is a very nasty disease indeed and underlines the need to maintain good hygiene protocols as well as ensuring the highest possible number of people get fully vaccinated as soon as possible.
