A large study published in The American Journal of Medicine, ensures that people who have not been vaccinated against covid-19 are more prone to road accidents.
Principal investigator Donald A. Redelmeier, a professor of medicine at the University of Toronto and a physician at the Sunnybrook Health Sciences Center, argues, in summary, that “Adults who neglect health recommendations may also neglect basic road safety guidelines.”
For your study, during the summer of 2021, Canadian researchers examined encrypted government records of about 11 million adults, 16% of whom had not received the covid vaccine.
After comparing emergency services data from Ontario (Canada) where a traffic accident resulted in a hospitalization, found that unvaccinated people were 72 percent more likely to be involved in a serious traffic accident than those vaccinated.
According to the researchers, this risk is similar to that of people with sleep apnea and only half that of people who abuse alcohol.
“The increase in road traffic risks among unvaccinated adults was across subgroups (older and younger; drivers and pedestrians; rich and poor) and amounted to a 48% increase after adjusting for age, gender, household location , socioeconomic status, and medical diagnoses“, reads the communication.
“The increase in traffic hazards spanned the entire spectrum of crash severity and looked similar for Pfizer, Moderna or other vaccines.”
no direct effect
The study admits that “simple immune activation against a coronavirus has no direct effect on the risk of a road accident”,
However, although the correlation seems strange, personality is linked to road accidents.
With this premise, Redelmeier said that vaccination against the respiratory covid-19 virus is an “objective, available, important, authenticated and timely indicator of human behavior”.
In other words: Skipping the preventative vaccine doesn’t mean someone will be in a car accident. Instead, the author theorizes that people who oppose public health recommendations may also be more lax when it comes to following the rules behind the wheel.
Correlations to results
Redelmeier said the authors “don’t want unvaccinated people to feel persecuted” and “don’t suggest they stop driving.”
Similarly, she said the researchers can’t make a claim that a causal link exists, as the study didn’t look at the causes of hesitancy when it comes to vaccination or risky driving. However, they do suggest some possible explanations for the correlation.
“One possibility is related to distrust in government or a belief in freedom, both of which contribute to vaccination preferences and increased trafficking risks,” they write in the study.
“Another explanation could be misconceptions about everyday hazards, belief in nature conservation, antipathy towards regulation, chronic poverty, exposure to misinformation, insufficient resources, or other personal beliefs.”
“Alternative factors could include identity politics, past negative experiences, low health literacy, or social networks that raise concerns about public health guidelines,” they add.
With DW info
