Despite high vax rates, Europe sees new highs in Covid cases

[BigmanPigman]

"Vaccinated, Recovered or Dead’: Europe Fights Covid Wave — and Itself"

https://www.nytimes.com/2021/11/22/world/europe/covid-europe-surge-protests.html

"Europe is again at the center of the pandemic, and amid vaccine resistance and protests, nations are imposing new rules and pressuring people to get inoculated."

"About 68 percent of Germans and 66 percent of Austrians have been fully vaccinated against Covid-19, and hospitals are mostly filled with those who have not been vaccinated at all. Early in the pandemic, scientists thought 70 to 80 percent vaccination might be enough for a population to reach “herd immunity.” But the virus is now so widespread, with new variants arising and some vaccinated people suffering “breakthrough” infections, that many experts say herd immunity is unattainable."

"Belgium is highly vaccinated, at 75 percent, but a rise in cases has caused the government to impose tighter restrictions, including more working from home and wider mandatory mask wearing. That prompted a protest in Brussels on Sunday of an estimated 35,000 people near the European Union headquarters. Some protesters threw stones and set fires, the police made more than 40 arrests, and three officers were hurt."

“Immunity will be reached,” Mr. Spahn said at a Berlin news conference. “The question is whether it’s via vaccination or infection, and we explicitly recommend the path via vaccination.”

[at140]

1. Why is this a surprise?

Vaccines do NOT build a valve in nose to prevent virus material floating in air, if you are still breathing.
No vaccine can "prevent" virus entering body and causing infection. Only function of vaccine is to create antibodies for the virus, so when it comes in and infects you, the odds are better to kill the virus before it makes you seriously sick. "Cases" are in most cases asymptomatic or mildly symptomatic not requiring hospitalization.

[BigmanPigman]

3. I read that hospitals are filling up too fast

and ICUs are running low as well as staffing. Younger people who are unvaxxed and the very old are the patients mostly. Portugal, Ireland and Spain have a very high vax rates, but even they are seeing soaring numbers.

"Ireland is home to one of Europe's highest vaccination rates -- 89.1% of people over the age of 12, and three-quarters of all people, having been immunized -"

"In Portugal -- the envy of the continent, where 87% of the total population is inoculated-"

https://www.cnn.com/2021/11/19/europe/europe-covid-vaccination-rates-fourth-wave-cmd-intl/index.html

[at140]

4. Yes, so please look at this data from a real hospital

Granted the data is a couple of months old, but relevant in showing what type of people are entering hospitals.

[Effete Snob]

2. It's the hospitalizations and deaths that matter