3 ms·
It means that for people with an immune system that's functioning within the normal range, the vaccine entirely prevents infection (100% effectiveness). Populat
by SAI_Peregrinus 5y ago
It means that for people with an immune system that's functioning within the normal range, the vaccine entirely prevents infection (100% effectiveness). Population-wide effectiveness isn't 100%, but for most individuals it is.
- BurningFrog 5y agoThanks. Now I know another term. I'm a bit confused by the term "infection" here. Let me split some hairs: Vaccines work by teaching the immune system how to fight an intruding virus, so it doesn't have to spend days or weeks figuring it out while the virus destroys your body. That means vaccinated people get viruses as often as unvaccinated, but defeat it much faster, usually before you notice any symptoms. My confusion is that I would call the time my immune system spends fighting a virus in my body an "infection", but apparently that is not the established use.
- sn9 5y agoYour confusion is warranted. These aren't terms that are 100% agreed upon and the scientific understanding is still evolving as our tools get better. The Atlantic just published an article about this very topic: https://www.theatlantic.com/science/archive/2021/09/sterilizing-immunity-myth-covid-19-vaccines/620023/ https://www.theatlantic.com/science/archive/2021/09/steriliz...
- SAI_Peregrinus 5y agoIf the immune system fights off the invader before it becomes established and starts freely replicating (before any symptoms, before it can be detected, before it can be transmitted) then it's not an infection. It's just some contamination.