It wasn't. Heart disease and cancer kill far more people on an annual basis and nobody bats an eye. According to the CDC, these were the top 10 causes of death in 2020[1]:
* Heart disease: 696,962
* Cancer: 602,350
* COVID-19: 350,831
* Accidents (unintentional injuries): 200,955
* Stroke (cerebrovascular diseases): 160,264
* Chronic lower respiratory diseases: 152,657
* Alzheimer’s disease: 134,242
* Diabetes: 102,188
* Influenza and Pneumonia: 53,544
* Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome, and nephrosis: 52,547
> Heart disease and cancer kill far more people on an annual basis and nobody bats an eye
I mean there are massive institutes, companies, and laboratories engaged in research on both these topics, tons of fund-raising, campaigns to improve diet and exercise, shockingly expensive treatments and so on. Other than all of that, yes, nobody bats an eye.
* Heart disease: 696,962
* Cancer: 602,350
* COVID-19: 350,831
* Accidents (unintentional injuries): 200,955
* Stroke (cerebrovascular diseases): 160,264
* Chronic lower respiratory diseases: 152,657
* Alzheimer’s disease: 134,242
* Diabetes: 102,188
* Influenza and Pneumonia: 53,544
* Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome, and nephrosis: 52,547
[1] https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/fastats/deaths.htm