They weren't "a joke." They were educated guesses to address an epidemic and did in fact save innumerable lives. N95 masks when properly used, social distancing and shutdowns provided significant protection from transmission. You forget how many people died and spent serious time in the ICU when covid first hit, before we had vaccinations and Paxlovid.

The "joke" came from people who said that covid was a fake disease no worse than a cold, believed vaccinations contained microchips from Bill Gates and would change your DNA, used horse wormer for treatment, suggested voodoo treatments like UV light or disinfectant, and said that covid would magically disappear when they knew differently.