COVID-19 is not a harmless disease, especially for the elderly. You can argue about children and young adults without risk factors, but that is only a small part of the population in developed countries. A large part of the population is older and/or has risk factors that put them at a higher risk due to COVID-19.

So yes, large parts of the population did need that protection now. And while the process was accelerated, the vaccines were tested and closely monitored.