STUDY: People Who Refuse COVID Vaccine More Likely To Get Into Car Crashes

Note: Correlation is not causality.

According to a recent study published in The American Journal of Medicine, people who did not get the COVID vaccine were more likely to get into car crashes. The Canadian researchers involved in the study found that amongst the residents of Ontario, those who did not get the vaccine were 72% are more likely to be involved in severe traffic accidents, with at least one hospitalisation, compared to those who were vaccinated.

But it is always important to note (when reading headlines like that) that correlation is not causality. Just like this writer’s favourite study title, “Not only assholes drive Mercedes” (actual title), luxury cars do not make jerks of the drivers but rather, jerks are drawn to luxury cars.

So, while it is easy to jump to the conclusion that the vaccine somehow makes us safer drivers, the authors suggested instead that people who demonstrate vaccine hesitancy and resist public health recommendations are also inclined to neglect basic road safety guidelines—ie. they are inherently rule breakers to begin with. Some of the reasons for ignorance of road rules, the authors suggested, include “faith in natural protection”, “antipathy toward regulation”, poverty and misinformation, among others.

The study also noted that those who did not get the COVID vaccine were significantly more likely to be “younger, living in a rural area, and below the middle socioeconomic quintile”.

The findings have application in several scenarios, including when first responders at the scene of a car crash might be exposing themselves to an unvaccinated individual. Insurance companies might also want to include COVID vaccine requirement on their traffic accident policies.

Interestingly, those with sleep apnea were also prone to car crashes as those who were anti-COVID-vaccine, but not surprisingly, these two groups of people are still less at risk than those who abuse alcohol.