The vaccines, while good, are not 100% effective

[Dandylioness1]

This is what Borris has said.

I’m so confused by that statement.

I know the vaccine isn’t 100% effective at preventing Covid, but I read an article a few days ago which said the vaccine (Oxford) was 100% effective at preventing severe disease and death.

So is the vaccine effective or not!! 🤷🏻‍♀️

I’m not sure what the confusion is here. The pill is not 100% effective but it’s still very effective. The vaccine is literally like any other medicine or vaccine ever it’s never 100% effective.

I'm confused you're confused as you've literally just said in your OP that you know the vaccine isn't 100% effective at preventing covd.

Vaccines don't prevent you from catching an illness they just lessen the effect that the illness will have on you.

I'm wondering this too. Az says 100% efficacy against severe disease and death.....

Yes; once people have had both doses, the vaccines should reduce the number of severe cases and hospitalizations and deaths.

However they won't stop people actually catching covid or suffering badly from it sometimes.

My interpretation is that whilst it doesn't guarantee that we will never contract the virus, it can guarantee that if we do, the impact will be lessened to the extent that we are far less likely to need hospital treatment.

Which is essentially what they've been trying to control from the beginning.

Maybe he meant transmission

The 100% figure came from the clinical trials - no one in the trial group who received the vaccine was hospitalised or died.

But that's only one relatively small group of people and once the vaccine is widely administered in the community, we do see some cases of hospitalisation and deaths too. A lot less than when we didn't have vaccines though but having the vaccine is not an absolute guarantee of not getting severely ill with covid.

doesn't guarantee that we will never contract the virus

Because that's not how vaccines work anyway.

The 100% figure came from the clinical trials - no one in the trial group who received the vaccine was hospitalised or died.

But that's only one relatively small group of people and once the vaccine is widely administered in the community, we do see some cases of hospitalisation and deaths too. A lot less than when we didn't have vaccines though but having the vaccine is not an absolute guarantee of not getting severely ill with covid.

This.

Why does everyone keep saying the vaccines don’t stop you contracting covid in the first place? That’s just not true. They’re not 100% but they do can infact stop infection on the first place as well as provide protection against severe disease if you do contract it.

@Dandylioness1

This is what Borris has said.

I’m so confused by that statement.

I know the vaccine isn’t 100% effective at preventing Covid, but I read an article a few days ago which said the vaccine (Oxford) was 100% effective at preventing severe disease and death.

So is the vaccine effective or not!! 🤷🏻‍♀️

Surely he simply means that the vaccines are, and never will be, §00% effective at preventing Covid.

I think he was just reminding people of this, as we begin to ease restrictions today.

Yes, you've been vaccinated but it isn't 100% definite you will be fully protected from catching it.

We know it reduced the chances of being very ill by a huge amount and we are becoming increasingly aware that they reduce the transmission of covid.

No vaccine or medication is 100% effective.

We know this. We always knew they wouldn’t be 100%. Before there were vaccines, it was ‘we just need them to be 60-70% effective, that’s good enough to get us out of this mess’ .. now it’s like ‘ohh they aren’t 100%, sorry guys. It’s 100% or nothing’ 😫 I’m on the sciences side. I’m not on BoJo’s but I could have put money on them wheeling this out today to warn people to keep following the rules! Do they really think kids aren’t hugging grandparents already? Mine never stopped. My neighbours kid is having a sleepover at his tonight. Grandparents have been used for childcare across the country for months so people can work.. but obviously not hugging them. C’mon, get real!

Do they really think kids aren’t hugging grandparents already?

Well, lots still aren't. I know that many are choosing to break the rules, but many are also choosing to follow them.

@Dementedswan

I'm wondering this too. Az says 100% efficacy against severe disease and death.....

This probably means you won’t end up on ICU... this goes for anything even the pill is not 100% however I’ve never been caught out on it!

@doireallyneedaname

Why does everyone keep saying the vaccines don’t stop you contracting covid in the first place? That’s just not true. They’re not 100% but they do can infact stop infection on the first place as well as provide protection against severe disease if you do contract it.

How does a vaccine stop a virus from infecting someone?

I thought that no one could make the 100% claim about any sort of vaccine or medication because that could open up them to getting sued if someone did get go onto contract whatever they were being protected against.

How does a vaccine stop a virus from infecting someone?

Your immune system has already produced antibodies in response to the weak or dead virus in the vaccine. So when you encounter the virus in the wild, you’re already ready to fight it off. Essentially.

You'd have to have the virus in order for the immune response given by the vaccine a chance to work...

For most people their immune response will be strong enough to prevent any kind of illness and to get rid of it early enough so you don't transmit.

But it can't stop the virus from infecting you even if you aren't aware you have been infected.

Well yes, but that’s all semantics really. Same way we say the measles jab “stops you getting measles”.

@DaysAreGettingLongerNow

How does a vaccine stop a virus from infecting someone?

Your immune system has already produced antibodies in response to the weak or dead virus in the vaccine. So when you encounter the virus in the wild, you’re already ready to fight it off. Essentially.

Exactly- it doesn't stop you from getting the virus, just that you won't get ill or pass it on (to a varying degree)

@DaysAreGettingLongerNow

Well yes, but that’s all semantics really. Same way we say the measles jab “stops you getting measles”.

Its not really semantics when the subject of the thread is how vaccines don't 100% prevent you getting covid.

@AlexaShutUp - I’ve not broken the rules. My children are allowed by law to go to my parents for childcare to enable me to do my job. My children are 3 & 1 .. do you think they don’t hug them? Likewise, my parents in law do the school run for my 6 year old nephew & childcare for my 3 year old niece. All perfectly legal & within the rules. Do you think they keep 2m apart?

Read the context of my comment before judging it.

I get what you mean OP. We've been told repeatedly that vaccines prevent 100% of hospitalisations and deaths (not infections) but they stood there today with a graph showing all the hospitalisations that we can expect in people who have had the vaccine! I think like PPs have said, the message is that the vaccine is still extremely effective for most but there will always be people who get very ill and even die of covid. I think.

I'm confused that there are still people who can't spell Boris after reading his stupid name five million times over the past year but there you go.

@Dementedswan

I'm wondering this too. Az says 100% efficacy against severe disease and death.....

No - they reported trial data which demonstrated that.

Real world data is already available and shows protection in the >80's to be about 90% against current UK variants obviously.