These articles are missing an important aspect of the vaccine: the immunity gained is non-sterilizing. [1] The vaccine stops the infection from becoming severe and spreading throughout the body, but it doesn't actually stop infection (and transmission) in the upper respiratory tract.
So we don't have any evidence showing we can achieve herd immunity even with a 100% vaccination rate (this article is wrong). The only thing we know for sure is we can dramatically reduce the severity of infection.
Beause vaccine efficacy is never 100%, some experts predict that we will see more deaths this year as we attempt to resume normal societal activities while SARS-COV-2 continues to circulate. [2] Although I think if we develop very good antibody tests and vaccines against the latest variants there should be a path towards minimizing deaths and severe complications and effectively turning this virus into a cold and effectively ending the pandemic.
> some experts predict that we will see more deaths this year as we attempt to resume normal societal activities while SARS-COV-2 continues to circulate.
Some 35 million Americans - heavily weighted towards the most vulnerable - are fully vaccinated. Unless something wild happens with variants, I think these experts are being overly negative.
I hope this is true. Do you have any studies to back this up? I see statements by government officials to this effect, but never any studies or data to back it up.
So we don't have any evidence showing we can achieve herd immunity even with a 100% vaccination rate (this article is wrong). The only thing we know for sure is we can dramatically reduce the severity of infection.
Beause vaccine efficacy is never 100%, some experts predict that we will see more deaths this year as we attempt to resume normal societal activities while SARS-COV-2 continues to circulate. [2] Although I think if we develop very good antibody tests and vaccines against the latest variants there should be a path towards minimizing deaths and severe complications and effectively turning this virus into a cold and effectively ending the pandemic.
[1] https://drhyman.com/blog/2021/01/27/podcast-ep155/
[2] https://dalewharrison.substack.com/p/covid-year-1