The COVID vaccine does not 100% protect you from actually catching COVID. That’s okay! Because that’s not the sole purpose of the vaccine.

The vaccine’s goal is to reduce the impact of COVID, should the person catch it. Instead of having symptoms so bad that the person has to go to the hospital, or perhaps even die, the symptoms could be limited to nothing at all, or something like the sniffles.

The difference between an individual person having the sniffles or going to the hospital is massive. To have symptoms bad enough to go to the hospital could result in thousands of dollars of medical bills, missing work (costing them and their employer more money), quarantining and more. That doesn’t even factor in the mental aspects; trauma and fear of having breathing issues and the knowledge of how many lives COVID has taken as the individual races to the hospital. If given the choice between the sniffles or bad enough symptoms to go the hospital, 100% of people 100% of the time would obviously prefer the sniffles.

Deaths are an even worse outcome, for obvious reasons.

At the time of writing this, in July 2021, we’re seeing report after report showing that 99%+ of the current deaths and hospitalizations are from those who are un-vaccinated. That isn’t to say vaccinated people aren’t catching COVID, because some are. The vaccine does temporarily reduce transmission rates, but what matters though, is that vaccinated people aren’t dealing with the major consequences like hospitalizations and death.

Hospitalizations and death are what destroys everything. They’re the reasons why the government and companies closed things down, mandated face masks, and are why our lives were turned upside down for most of 2020. That year wouldn’t have been one of the worst years of our lives and something we’ll never forget, if everyone just got the sniffles. The hospitalizations and deaths are what we need to prevent, and that’s exactly what the vaccine does.

Some people ask “Why bother getting vaccinated if it doesn’t protect you 100% from catching COVID?” Well, in addition to the reasons I laid out above, I’d like to ask those same people:

• Do you brush your teeth even though it doesn’t prevent 100% of cavities? Would you prefer 99% less cavities or is only 100% worth it?

• Do you put a seatbelt on when driving even though it doesn’t prevent 100% car crashes, or deaths from car crashes? Would you prefer to break a few bones and survive, or is the seat belt only worth if it it’s perfect?

• Should we have flight regulations and safety standards for commercial airplanes, even though they only prevent 99% of crashes, but the possibly of an airplane crash still exists?

The answer to all of these questions is an obvious yes.

I believe firmly in people’s right to choose to get a vaccine or not. Although I desperately wish everyone would, I respect people’s choice more than anything. I would never advocate for mandating vaccinations or treating all un-vaccinated people as ignorant or selfish. However, I think it’s at least important we’re honest with what the vaccine is intended to do.

For more info in a quick 7 minute video, check this out: