They are vaccines in the sense they stimulate the immune system to fight the virus, but are weaker than traditional vaccines. It is pretty clear by now that VE against infection rapidly fades over time (6-12 months), say goodbye to herd immunity. There are encouraging epi and B cell studies that indicate VE against severe infection holds, but it's still relatively early in the pandemic. We lack long term data plus virus mutations are a risk factor. Hope for the best, but be cautious of premature victory proclamations.
