COVID is special though in that if it were only as deadly to the young as it were to everyone, I don't think we'd be referring to this as a pandemic.

Literally, right now we are seeing case rates explode, but the number of casualties is paradoxically very low because it's mostly the younger cohorts getting sick - which is probably a social function of things like 'back school' and 'risky behaviours' among younger groups.

If we could get everyone 50+ vaccinated, we may be largely safe - maybe not 'back to normal safe' - but the combination of 'partial herd immunity', 'much lower rates of hospitalization' etc. may mean we can 'kind of get back to normal'.