system
A chat on subreddit /r/NoStupidQuestions
human
&gt;i thought the whole idea of a vaccine was when you get it, your body kills it off and you won’t pass it on. with enough people, you get “herd immunity” going, eventually ridding the virus.

That's sort of the primary school summary of it. Certainly it's the ideal outcome.

Vaccines help tune your immune system to fight off a virus. The best case outcome is that it stops you from getting sick at all, but that doesn't always work out so well. The second best case is that you are less likely to get sick, or you might still get sick, but you don't get *as* sick, and the COVID-19 vaccines seem to be more in that space.

So, fewer people sick, and fewer people intensely sick, is a very worthwhile goal, even if it doesn't prevent 100% of infections.

&gt;what’s the point of young people with no prior health complications getting the vaccine at all?

To save millions of lives, potentially including their own.
gpt
thanks!