The COVID epidemic is now forgotten, or almost so, and consequently the debate about vaccines as well. However, it is unpleasant to note that certain preconceived notions have remained deeply ingrained, as if etched in stone, in the minds of a significant part of the population.
I take as an example this statement found in a recent novel by one of the authors from the Wu Ming collective.[1] One of the protagonists says: “… it must be reiterated that this policy of blame-shifting and divide-and-conquer is centered on a vaccine that mitigates the impact of COVID but does not prevent contagion. A vaccinated person with a green pass can infect and be infected as much as an unvaccinated person. Vaccinated or not, green-pass holders or not, disobedient or compliant, it is likely that sooner or later we will all catch the virus. It doesn’t make sense to waste so much energy fighting amongst ourselves …”
The sentences in bold are logically correct statements, but misleading from a practical perspective. Let me explain further. The statement “if you play the superenalotto lottery, you can win the jackpot” is formally correct, but the probability of this happening, in the case of picking six numbers, is about 1 in 620,000,000. Sure, occasionally someone does win the jackpot, but it is an extremely rare event considering the vast number of people who play and don’t win.
Returning to the case of vaccines, a person vaccinated against a specific virus produces antibodies against it. When the individual comes into contact with the virus, their immune system is ready to respond and prevents the onset of the disease. The neutralization of the virus by the antibodies should, in any case, prevent or reduce its proliferation. It is true that some people still get sick even when vaccinated, but to a lesser extent and with much milder symptoms compared to those who are unvaccinated. So, if we want to consider a person “sick” simply because they were infected by the virus, then it is true that one can still get sick even when vaccinated. However, this does not include the severe consequences of the disease (what anti-vaxxers refer to as “the symptoms”) and, very often, the person doesn’t even realize they were infected (or “sick”).
Now let’s move to the second statement. If the above is correct, the viral load — that is, the amount of viral particles in the body of the infected person — will be very low and last for a very short time. Therefore, even in this case, vaccination does not absolutely rule out the possibility that a vaccinated person can infect others. However, the likelihood of this happening becomes much, much lower compared to unvaccinated individuals.
Perhaps it would be appropriate to stop demonizing vaccines, which are one of the most useful preventive measures against diseases that were once fatal (and are, in any case, a remedy that we could define as more “natural” because they rely on the individual’s immune system compared to the medications used once the disease has already manifested).
[1] Wu Ming 1, Gli uomini pesce, Einaudi Stile libero, pag. 592.
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