Essay worth reading in its entirety: The Great Reinforcer by Stuart Ritchie.
To be sure, out of the gloom of the pandemic came some incredible advances – the stunning progress made on vaccines chief among them. But these bright spots were something of an exception. For those of us with an interest in where science can go wrong, the pandemic has been the Great Reinforcer: it has underlined, in the brightest possible ink, all the problems we knew we had with the way we practice science.
Acknowledging stunning successes in the science of COVID-19, he reviews our regrettable and predictable failures. And hitting a little too close for comfort, notes how much harm comes from a desire to help.