I'd suggest the vaccines are doing a terrific job in the UK. Take a look at how much the death rate has decoupled from the case rate over the last few months. This is what happens when the vast majority of vulnerable are unvaccinated (Sept 20 - Feb 21) vs vaccinated (Jul 21 - Aug 21). The case rate rises on re-opening in Jul 21, but the death rate remains flat, and is vastly over-represented by unvaccinated people.
