Always remember that policy universally is promoted to further the agenda of a given party! Many republican politicians opt for the abolition of early/absentee voting, and democrats the opposite. Bear in mind that these policies are not just ideological rhetoric, but political play, intended to benefit the ruling party rather than the wider people.
At least 7 million people died as a very conservative estimate. Some estimates go as high as 30 million deaths. It’s the 4th most deadly epidemic/pandemic in the last millennia after the Black Death, Spanish flu, and HIV/AIDS. And that’s with all the lockdowns, social distancing measures and a truly groundbreaking rollout of vaccinations. There’s nothing overblown about that.