Right now the morbidity seems high because we have no clue how many mild or asymptomatic cases there have been. Nor will we until it's all over.
Both the Hong Kong virus and the Swine Flu were more contagious than the typical flu. Both were also new variations.
This is why you can not be neutral, saying maybe it will maybe it will not is a faux neutrality saying A and B are equal costs. But since human lives are irreplaceable, you can not undo death, then wasting money, wasting attention, wasting concern is the true prudent and conservative action to perform. For getting it wrong has irreplaceable consequences.
This is scary stuff for you can not be truly prudent or vigilant as an individual instead it is about social trust, social institutions, and so on in order to prepare for these catastrophes you must be comfortable with waste, with people blaming you for action, for a black swan even is far worse. And when a black swan event occurs you will still be scapegoated no matter if you did 98% right and the 2% wrong there was no way for you to know.
But it is better to fail with your boots on, than to fail with your pants off.