Why can't models get Covid-19 predictions right? Should we rely on them?

The models did work to a certain extent. The purpose of the models was not to do long-term forecasting but to inform public opinion and guide policy decisions

In May last year, as the pandemic was raging, the Department of Science and Technology (DST) constituted the Indian National Supermodel Committee to track the pandemic's evolution and recommend future policy interventions.
 
India hit its peak in September 2020, and the National Supermodel Committee report, released in October 2020, confirmed that India had indeed hit its peak of infections in September. The report further said that if all protocols were followed, the pandemic would be controlled by February 2021, and there would be minimal active symptomatic infections.
 
A few months earlier, a more rudimentary model had erroneously projected