1) We need to keep using all strategies - including masking, social distancing, and targeted lockdowns - to reduce large scale spread of the virus. If we don't, we're going to be playing "new variant whack-a-mole" until the end of time.
2) Vaccination is critical to make the above task easier but it's not enough it itself. There seems to be a lot of evidence that it reduces chance of passing it on and the severity of the cases, but it's clearly not enough by itself (see Israel, although the remaining unvaccinated population is a big factor anywhere in passing COVID on).
We're also going to have to start kicking the asses of the pointlessly vaccine-skeptical through harsh restrictions and denial of things. In Australia, once we have universal access to the vaccine, I would be quite keen to see vaccine refusers not treated for free if they do get COVID - I'd support a "HECS"-like scheme for people who get avoidable diseases like this, including the government getting to sell your house when you die to recoup costs.
3) There's a pile of stuff we don't know about the long-term effects of COVID-19 and some ominous indications that it's Really Not Good. I don't want to get into a case-by-case with a bunch of self-appointed Internet Experts about this but there's a lot of medical opinion out there that long COVID is real and serious (particularly on the neurological side). We don't know how bad it really is because no-one has had COVID for more than 2 years.
Having participated in the care of multiple relatives over the years with dementia, one thing that chills me is the prospect that COVID will lead to even a slight uptick in the chance of getting Lewy body dementia or Parkinson's. That's a fucking public health tsunami.
We also don't know much about the effects of lockdown, etc. but the picture seems to be complex and indecisive. All the anti-lockdown people going on about suicides and depression apparently think the only source of suicide and depression in a massive pandemic where people are losing folks dear to them and are terrified of getting a debilitating disease is because they are locked down. As usual, it's the typical overreach of the Internet Expert.
Normal is a very long way off. The implications of COVID being 'endemic' certainly aren't what most people casually tossing the word around think they are, and magical thinking about 'living with the virus' isn't going to make long COVID go away.