In 2024, a meme says no one ever said Covid vaccines would stop Covid infections. It is strange that people are pushing this Orwellian history rewrite, as the original claim of stopping infection is easily verified.
Here is a sample of published papers and news reports that said the vaccines would stop infections.
CDC Director: “Our data from the CDC today suggests that vaccinated people do not carry the virus, don’t get sick.” – https://www.yahoo.com/news/cdc-director-data-suggests-vaccinated-185100232.html
“Pfizer and Moderna Covid vaccines 95% effective in clinical trials”….”Today, Pfizer and BioNTech announced that their new experimental Covid-19 vaccine is 95% effective in preventing infections and causes no serious safety concerns, according to a final analysis of their clinical trial.”
https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/article/pfizer-moderna-covid-vaccines-clinical-trials/
“VA research shows vaccines more than 95% effective in preventing infection in high-risk population”
https://www.va.gov/pittsburgh-health-care/news-releases/va-research-shows-vaccines-more-than-95-effective-in-preventing-infection-in-high-risk-population/
“The Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine was the most extensively studied among the COVID-19 vaccines with >90% effectiveness against infection, severe infection, infection requiring hospitalization and mortality after the second dose. The effectiveness of the Moderna vaccine after the second dose was >80% against infection, severe infection and infection requiring hospitalization”
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8862168/
There were “break thru cases”: “each vaccine was found to be safe and efficacious in preventing symptomatic, laboratory-confirmed COVID-19 (1–3). Despite the high level of vaccine efficacy, a small percentage of fully vaccinated persons (i.e. received all recommended doses of an FDA-authorized COVID-19 vaccine) will develop symptomatic or asymptomatic infections with SARS-CoV-2″
https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/70/wr/mm7021e3.htm
By the end of 2022, about 4 in 5 Americans were vaccinated against Covid-19 – which is about the same % that had had Covid at least once by the end of 2022, according to the CDC. Most people were vaccinated and most everyone had Covid. Contrary to claims, the vaccine did not stop infection.
It is likely the vaccine resulted in “less bad” Covid-19 for many/most and led to less severe disease and hospitalization. Plus, having Covid after vax results in a degree of future immunity, including B- and T-cells.
Vaccine mandates were implemented based on the idea they would “stop infections”. “Early data also suggested the vaccines reduced overall infections and shortened the time a person was infectious. ….Initial hopes that the vaccines would stop the spread of COVID-19 faded, however, as it became clear that protection against infection wanes after a few months.”
https://www.science.org/content/article/do-covid-19-vaccine-mandates-still-make-sense
Summary
Public health experts, the CDC Director, claimed vaccines stopped most infections – and this was the primary basis for vaccine mandates. Over time, the immunity provided by vaccinations was found to wane after weeks. Independently, new variants emerged. Ultimately, nearly everyone, vaccinated or not has had Covid at least once (per the CDC), indicating the vaccines did not prevent infection.
BOTTOM LINE – PUBLIC HEALTH MESSAGING WAS A MESS. A related problem was “dueling experts” on social media who voiced contradictory, inconsistent, illogical and incoherent claims. If brain injured idiots like me were confused by this, it was our fault – not the messed-up messaging.
I am not anti-vax. As a child I had the only 2 vaccines available: smallpox and polio and I had most of the childhood diseases. Not one health care provider ever asked about vaccines, and I was unaware of current recommendations. In 2019, on my own initiative, I asked my doctor about it. It was decided I should “catch up” and from Dec 2019 to Dec 2022, I had 14 shots total (shingles, Covid, influenza, hep A/B, pneumonia) and I will have 3 more this fall (DTap booster, RSV, influenza).
