After his sickness went away, we worked out together (I'm vaccinated and boosted). Two days later, he calls me to tell me he tested positive for COVID but barely feels anything, just has a slight cough. He tested positive for a week and half afterwards.
I didn't get sick whatsoever. I mean, maybe one day I had a little bit of nasal congestion, but it could have just been the cold weather or any number of things. My wife also did not get sick (but she's vaccinated as well).
I think it's too early to write off that vaccines don't prevent transmissibility or even getting the virus. The immunization effects of these vaccines are so unknown to us given that they're so new. This whole COVID-19 situation is so damn weird, and that's why a lot of people are admittedly very skeptical of everything.
It may be that protection against infection by casual contact is significantly better, but it’s almost impossible to study that.
This is not a reviewed scientific paper; this is a short letter citing a couple studies that didn't see much of a difference in infection rates between unvaccinated and vaccinated people. Conversely, we have a bunch of data showing the opposite.
(I am triple vaccinated, for the record)
* I am triple vaccinated
I find it hard to think these restrictions can be justified as a public safety measure if they don't lower transmission. Limiting severe infection is up to the individual. They seem more like coercion to me. I think the government should be in the business of education not coercion. I'm triple vaccinated because I think it's the best choice for me, yet I have no right to make that choice for anyone else.
Some studies see no signal of reduced transmission. Other areas see massive effects. It's all confounded because the vaccinated do not behave exactly like the unvaccinated.
On the flip side, there are so few unvaccinated now, that I don't know how big of an effect the measures have with regards to unvaccinated restrictions.
Having said that, personally I've not had any issues with the current restrictions, they don't impact what I would usually do. But I'm probably the exception, not the rule when it comes to unvaxed people. I'm of mostly of the opinion, the restrictions are of a net positive for us, if you're not vaxxed I would avoid gatherings, especially indoors. Seems kinda reckless if you're going to parties etc while unvaxxed.
*not vaccinated, mostly because I don't socialise much so don't see the need, not until I want to fly. I see it as, the longer I can wait, the more we'll know about the vaccine, and hopefully there will be better (more effective) options.
When obesity or smoking goes up the increased health care needs are spread out over decades because of the flat wide PDF. There is plenty of time for the healthcare system to expand to handle this before it can become overloaded.
COVID's healthcare needs PDF is tall and thin.
Because of the tall and thin PDF, COVID's strain on the healthcare system is short term.
If there was a safe, easy to take and effective vaccine against obesity and smoking, but they refused to take it, maybe.
Plus neither obesity nor smoking infect other people.
You may be reaching for something like "I have no confidence in public health mandates of any kind, based on our experience so far... therefore I'm inclined to not believe vaccine mandates will be effective."
But you seem to be leaping to say that vaccine mandates are not effective in preventing transmission ... because some regions are discontinuing requiring masks... This is very confused.