>> is that our personal experience doesn’t reflect the horrendous plagues in the past.
Agree. There are 2 parts here:
1) pandemic is happening in the hospitals and nursing homes. you do not always see it. I heard a Rav on Zoom for several weeks (WITH a negative test but with a cough I never heard before), this made enough of an impression. That is why you need to use your math skills to evaluate reports of number of people dying and sick to understand something that is not in front of your eyes. There are lots of people who work with infectious diseases or radiation who are capable of keeping precautions without seeing a threat. Or you can talk to hatzolah people for their impressions.
2) numbers are indeed lower than under Bubonic plague. It is to a credit of humanity that we are taking measures to save lives of many of older and sicker people, and not behaving like Amalek.
Maybe this a double test Hashem sent us – first for our intellectual abilities and second for rahmanus. Maybe a final test before Maschiach comes?