[choeger]

To the contrary, I don't think that's plausible. In the whole COVID-19 decision the question of the initial load has not been discussed well enough, IMO.

If you think about the virus passing your various layers of protection it is clearly a numbers game, IMO. A mask, even if imperfect, might reduce your initial viral load below a threshold that allows your immune system to kill all infected cells very quickly so you don't develop strong symptoms. The same goes for distance.

So I don't see any reason to not expect a certain "sterile" immunity after a vaccination. The way I see it, the vaccination should prevent some of the low-load infections completely, regardless of the virus variant.

[gridspy]

Any discussion of viral load seems too subtle for a general audience, but that's sound.

It's kind of like Vaccine + mask + low exposure (social distance, short times, good ventilation) is your "armor class" against the virus.

If your armor is good enough, the chance of becoming infected IS very low.