Yes; however, prioritization lets us speed up the effects of population-scale vaccination by either...
1. Vaccinating people who are the most likely to get sick
2. Vaccinating people who are the most likely to spread the virus
Option 1 makes the death and hospitalization rates fall quicker, so that anyone we miss is more likely to still have a hospital bed to get treated in. Option 2 reduces the total number of people exposed to the virus.
The whole point of vaccination is to keep people from having to go to the hospital or dying - protecting the weakest first achieves that better than random vaccinations. Someone like me who basically lives in his room and works remotely can afford to wait for shots - someone who works in retail and has 1000s of exposures per day needs their shots yesterday.
1. Vaccinating people who are the most likely to get sick
2. Vaccinating people who are the most likely to spread the virus
Option 1 makes the death and hospitalization rates fall quicker, so that anyone we miss is more likely to still have a hospital bed to get treated in. Option 2 reduces the total number of people exposed to the virus.
The whole point of vaccination is to keep people from having to go to the hospital or dying - protecting the weakest first achieves that better than random vaccinations. Someone like me who basically lives in his room and works remotely can afford to wait for shots - someone who works in retail and has 1000s of exposures per day needs their shots yesterday.