My point is that the vaccines abilities were oversold and underwhelmed people with their efficacy. This and several other policy missteps have severely undermined people’s trust regarding public health institutions.
I don't want to demand that we listen to experts, but I do regret people seem to have expected experts to never be wrong. And the current culture has gotten to where admitting a mistake is literally the worst thing you can do for a political stance. :(
1) Lacking a nationalized infrastructure to deliver food, utilities, and healthcare, some businesses are clearly essential
2) It is impossible to have unanimous consensus on what "essential" means
3) In some areas, businesses are not tightly scoped - the primary source of food for a neighborhood may also sell non-food items.
4) Even the definition of "essential" cannot be tightly defined - are manufacturers of spare infrastructure components essential? What about their suppliers? What about the contractor who refills their coffee machine?
Decisions had to be made, and administrators largely made the best decisions with the information available to them.
Only the alt-right spun it as a cure so they could also merrily point out to everyone when that didn’t come true.
https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/one-year-biden-said-...
https://www.cnbc.com/2020/08/07/coronavirus-vaccine-dr-fauci...
> White House coronavirus advisor Dr. Anthony Fauci that the chances of scientists creating a highly effective vaccine — one that provides 98% or more guaranteed protection — for the virus are slim.
> Scientists are hoping for a coronavirus vaccine that is at least 75% effective, but 50% or 60% effective would be acceptable, too, he said.
> The FDA has said it would authorize a coronavirus vaccine so long as it is safe and at least 50% effective.