I had almost the exact same reaction. Perhaps if it wasn't so hyped, I would have approached it differently. I wondered if it was the kind of thing that was unique in its day, but just didn't translate now. I read it several years ago, so my memory is not crisp, but it certainly didn't make me want to read more Salinger.

>It doesn't seem to prevent people from getting sick which is what we were told it would do.

This statement is just incorrect. If you were under the impression that vaccines prevent people from becoming infected, you were mistaken. They prevent hospitalization and death. That has been proven in randomized controlled trials.