Right I agree, hence social distancing + masks. I think masks reduce exposure and then there is roulette with whomever you encounter.
Also I think you need to distinguish between masks that you and I wear everyday and hospital PPE procedures. There is a big differences between the mask I put on to go to the grocery store and the PPE you put on before you go into a room with a COVID patient.
As you noted efficacy is different for each, let's just say 95% for discussion. So 5% of people who get COVID have sever symptoms, and 5% of people who get the vaccine get COVID.
So it compounds...
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That being said, the vaccine offers
attenuation of your symptoms, so this ^ table does not reflect reality.
30,000 people received the Moderna and Pfizer vaccines, only 1 person in the trial who received the vaccine was hospitalized, no one died.
I agree, if rates were high for years even with a mask you would get it eventually. If every interaction was a .05% chance and you had thousands a year... odds are not in your favor.
Masks and social distancing were purely to slow the spread until there was a vaccine and people were vaccinated.
This virus will likely continue to be prevalent in the world forever, I don't think it's reasonable to think we can eliminate it, I think the CDC, etc are just shooting for dramatic reduction.