Trying to figure out RSV

[dolphins4life]

Cases this year have skyrocketed.

Scientists this is because the previous two winters, children were shielded from common infections due to masking, lockdowns, and distancing.

https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2022/11/rsv-pandemic-virus-explainer/

I am confused. 

1) IF that's the case, shouldn't cases have just gone back to where they were pre-pandemic levels?

2) If that's case, does that mean that maybe the lockdowns, disttancing, nad masking were bad after all?

Pre-pandemic:

RSV levels were normal.  Kids were going to school as normal and interacting as normal. 

Pandemic:

RSV levels plummet due to masks, lockdowns, and social distancing.

Post-Pandemic

RSV levels skyrocket

https://abcnews.go.com/Lifestyle/wireStory/whats-worrying-rsv-surge-us-childrens-hospitals-92021046

Are they saying that the children born during the pandemic didn't have the ability to build up immunity and are getting sick now?

[DenverFinFan]

1) No not necessarily. It could be a particularly bad year but yes one of the side effects of all this is that children may have temporarily weakened immunity to common viruses. It’s hard to predict how things will work out. Because of masking and increased precautions we nearly made a flu variant extinct.

2) No, not even close. A million people died. If we did nothing we could be looking at 10m. It was already a catastrophe and it could have been so much worse.

The next one will be worse. We as a species need to get our shit together.