And therein lies the rub. They aren't lying to you in some misguided attempt to protect you. They are lying to you to keep the ruse going. They have not yet extracted maximal political benefit that this virus provides them. The masks aren't there to keep you safe, they are there to keep you afraid (read:compliant). And it works so damn well, that they were able to pull off the biggest election heist in world history. So why stop now. The vaccine is great and all, and it will probably keep the virus under control. Whether it's necessary is something that every individual should have to right to decide for themselves. But the weapon that this virus truly is is way too valuable to give up so soon. Everyone who tells you that the vaccine doesn't prevent spread is one of 2 things: an idiot, or a politician. Just my humble opinion. The flu vaccine prevents spread (nobody has ever claimed otherwise), but the covid vaccine does not? The virus spreads on exactly the same way, respiratory droplets, and is about as deadly in roughly the same populations. Used to be more deadly, but we have better drugs, including the protocol you mentioned.