They sure are.
There's different degrees of end game, as well as being dependent on when they drop and what our current power level caps are.
Vow released at 1520 because we had a LONG way to level for WQ.
With this current season, it's end game continued on, so it's for people who were level capped in WQ. We were 1550 in WQ, so it wouldn't make any sense to release the dungeon below the previous season's level cap.
The end game in Destiny is continued through seasons. It's how they have done it for a long time.
They aren't going to release an end game activity during a season for people who just bought the game. That wouldn't make sense. It's for people who are already at or near the cap when the season begins, so they actually have something to do and work on.