The notion that “lockdowns” during Covid were harmful and excessive is not confined to the right. “Were the Covid Lockdowns Worth It?” Though that definition described how lay people and media organizations used “lockdowns,” public health experts and researchers eschewed the word in favor of more precise terms. Lucky Tran, a science communicator based in New York, noted that government officials at the time commonly used the terms “stay-at-home orders” or “public health measures.” How could officials have struck a more favorable balance between the benefits of public health measures and the costs?