Trying to contain the virus was the bad strategy because of the effectivenesss of the virus in spreading, with/without masks; protecting the vulnerable (mainly elderly) would've been more effective, as I understand. See the excellent interview of Dr. Jay Bhattacharya by Lex Fridman (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oIOGUYOPAsA).
On the plus side, producing vaccines by end of 2020 was nothing short of stunning IMO, with all the skepticism at that time on the timeline. Bid kudos to the pharmas of course, but a lot of credit should also go to the Trump administration, whatever you may think of the president.