Just to throw some more stupid ideas around and create more controversy, some believe the covid19 pandemic was encouraged to get people vaccinated against an alien invasion.Now if there was intelligent life out there, the big question for civilians of earth and the governments is, are they friendlies? It would suck if we sent out a message that they somehow got (who knows, aliens could be years ahead of us or years behind us) and it was christopher colomubus with the "Indians" (native Americans) except were the Indians possibly...
Then how would governments on earth be affected? Would laws have to be changed on our planet? How would we be affected as an earthly culture rather than Country cultures?
The governments know they are out there. The governments are concerned about potential alien threats to this planet. The governments work together to get everyone vaccinated against various alien viruses they found on bodies in Roswell.
Much better to say there is a global pandemic and you should be vaccinated, than to say aliens are coming to get us, take this vaccine so you don't die from alien chickenpox.