Variants. Delta changed everything. This isn't just one virus globally so you can't compare across countries like that.
Look into what happened with Vietnam. They were able to 'control' the spread multiple times over the first year. They thought they could always control things, so they didn't focus on vaccination.
Once delta took hold, it spread more quickly than they could control things and the govt. has gone crazy on getting everyone vaccinated as quickly as possible.
At this point though, infections are soaring. The govt. has given up trying to control it. A lot of people are going to die. They are figuring that they will push to get as many people vaccinated, but herd immunity will come faster. The plan now is to get the country open again more quickly.
and then you have netherlands with 80%+ of the pop vaccinated hitting record number of cases.
I'm sorry but the narrative "vaccine prevents spread" has been falling apart for the past 6 months and is now completely disproved by real world data. Not a single country has been successful at preventing the spread with vaccination. And it shows at every level : from cities (singapore) to small islands (cayman islands) to states.
The vaccine isn't a superman cape or body condom. It doesn't prevent you from getting covid if you're exposed to it. You're honestly an idiot if you believe it prevents you from getting covid.
The real benefit of the vaccine is that it lessen the effects if you are infected. The benefit of that is that hospitals don't fill up. People who have other issues won't be locked out. Fewer people will die.
Look into what happened with Vietnam. They were able to 'control' the spread multiple times over the first year. They thought they could always control things, so they didn't focus on vaccination.
Once delta took hold, it spread more quickly than they could control things and the govt. has gone crazy on getting everyone vaccinated as quickly as possible.
At this point though, infections are soaring. The govt. has given up trying to control it. A lot of people are going to die. They are figuring that they will push to get as many people vaccinated, but herd immunity will come faster. The plan now is to get the country open again more quickly.