>> i think it's clear in retrospect that most of the interventions in the face of the pandemic were based on profit and scant science

Lock-downs weren't in the service of profit. The vast majority of businesses, big and small, were hurt (many fatally) by lock downs.

And yes, there was scant science involved. Almost all interventions were on a "best guess" basis. Govts around the world had to make very big decisions with no science at all. Anthropologists can dissect the data for decades to come. Govt response, but equally population responses will help guide future decision makers.

On the face of it, countries where lockdowns were adopted (by the population) typically had lower death rates, but that's somewhat anecdotal at this point.

Yes, vaccine development was hasty. Partly because very large studies were easy to setup. Yes some drug companies made profits. Yes unvaccinated people still died. Yes we dont know if the vaccines have generational level side effects.

All things considered I think we came out of it pretty well.