Yes although the delta variant has undermined the efficacy of vaccines at preventing infection (from 91% to 66% [1]), it is still fairly effective at preventing

Yes although the delta variant has undermined the efficacy of vaccines at preventing infection (from 91% to 66% [1]), it is still fairly effective at preventing severe outcomes such as hospitalization and death. > but a poor basis on which to shift policy from vaccination to infecting the entire population and blessing the survivors This is not at all what the paper is suggesting, and people should not be interpreting it as such. The fact is that a vast majority of people infected by SARS-CoV-2 will survive without any severe outcomes. In fact a significant proportion (at least 33% and up to 65% [2][3], perhaps even more [4][5]) will be completely asymptomatic. This has implications for vaccine strategy because supply of doses is limited - these findings imply that individuals who are immunologically naive or vulnerable due to age and comorbidities should be prioritized for vaccination, rather than people who have already acquired robust and durable immunity from natural infection [6]. [1] https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/70/wr/mm7034e4.htm https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/70/wr/mm7034e4.htm [2] The Proportion of SARS-CoV-2 Infections That Are Asymptomatic https://www.acpjournals.org/doi/full/10.7326/M20-6976 https://www.acpjournals.org/doi/full/10.7326/M20-6976 [3] Estimating the asymptomatic proportion of SARS-CoV-2 infection in the general population: Analysis of nationwide serosurvey data in the Netherlands https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10654-021-00768-y https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10654-021-00768-y [4] Evaluating the massive underreporting and undertesting of COVID-19 cases in multiple global epicenters https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S253104372030129X https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S253104372... [5] Undiagnosed SARS-CoV-2 seropositivity during the first 6 months of the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States https://stm.sciencemag.org/content/13/601/eabh3826 https://stm.sciencemag.org/content/13/601/eabh3826 [6] Model-informed COVID-19 vaccine prioritization strategies by age and serostatus https://science.sciencemag.org/content/sci/371/6532/916.full.pdf https://science.sciencemag.org/content/sci/371/6532/916.full...