Which COVID vaccination would you want?

[Azathoth]

36. This is another "you don't need masks" situation

They first told us we didn't need masks, and then told us basic hand-sewn cloth masks were all we needed. This wasn't a mistake due to lack of knowledge. They knew perfectly well that N95 respirators and tightly fitted surgical masks, in that descending order, would offer significantly better protection to people. But their key priority was preserving PPE for the medical system, and that was what drove their recommendations, not concern for each individual person's health.

Fauci et. al. are still focused on the overall pandemic numbers and the large scale effects on the medical system. The J&J vaccine recommendations are the same kind of prioritizing. 70% efficacy will mean significant reductions in both strain on the medical system and overall pandemic numbers, which will in turn allow more concessions to political and economic pressures to reopen. But the tradeoff will be significantly more people getting symptomatic covid in the short-to medium term.