02/03/2021
In the interest of informing and cutting through the seemingly endless worry and conflicting information out there, here's the bottom line:
These vaccines are extremely effective, according to the current data, at reducing infection rates and, most importantly, reducing the severity of infections (if one contracts it) rendering it much less dangerous in comparison. Recent studies of representative populations of roughly 75,000 people have shown NO deaths among those who are fully vaccinated and dramatic reductions in hospitalizations. This holds true among all five of the major vaccines, and includes the emerging worrisome variants such as the South African strain. If you render the virus relatively harmless this controls the rate at which icu beds are utilized, which is one of the main worries as when ICU's are full, death rates skyrocket not just from CoVid-19, but from everyday things such as car accidents, strokes, heart attacks, etc. At current infection rates, combined with current vaccination rates it is predicted herd immunity may arrive sometime in 2022.
Part of the issue clouding the clear communication of the effectiveness of the vaccines is the fact that when something is said to be 60% or 80% or 95% effective, scientifically they mean effective at preventing any infection. Meaning merely catching it, even if it's incredibly mild or even asymptomatic, still counts as a failure of the vaccine during a research study.
But clinically, it's incredibly important that these vaccines have been extremely effective in reducing severe outcomes. This makes these vaccines like kryptonite to Superman, making them an invaluable tool.
This appears to be taking the teeth out of the virus, and if this continues to hold true, things can begin to return to normal if CoVid-19 infections act like any other run-of-the-mill infection.
"We donโt need to eliminate it for life to return to normal. We instead need to downgrade it from a deadly pandemic to a normal virus. Once that happens, adults can go back to work, and children back to school. Grandparents can nuzzle their grandchildren, and you can meet your friends at a restaurant."
We have our Excalibur, and have unsheathed it from the stone. Now we must only choose to wield it.
The news about the vaccines continues to be excellent โ and the public discussion of it continues to be more negative than the facts warrant.