The thing with the EU is that we have variable, externally controlled infection rates. We could eradicate it, but there's no point because we have land borders

The thing with the EU is that we have variable, externally controlled infection rates. We could eradicate it, but there's no point because we have land borders to countries we can't control. So we're just trying to keep local rates below crippling. (With mixed success.) The point of a vaccine is that you can't scale it back for populist appeasement; once you have broad immunity you keep broad immunity for long enough that you end up eradicating the virus almost involuntarily. In comparison, a lockdown is much more vulnerable to feel-good measures reducing the effectiveness.