Outrage, as scientists say, the unvaccinated fall more and should pay more in the car insurance

Scientists have sparked outrage after urging Americans who aren’t vaccinated against Covid to pay higher car insurance premiums.

They made the call after a study found that people who didn’t get an injection were 70 percent more likely to be involved in a traffic accident that left at least one person hospitalized.

The Canadian researchers suggested that people who don’t get vaccinated are being reckless. But the findings were met with disbelief and mockery on social media, with doctors calling the findings “stupid” and “a joke”.

The blue line denotes vaccinated people and the red line denotes those who are not vaccinated against COVID. The number in square brackets indicates the cumulative number of people in each group who had an accident that resulted in hospitalization. It shows that those who are not vaccinated are relatively more likely to be involved in an accident

The study, published in the American Journal of Medicine, found that around 1,700 traffic accidents were involved in around 6,700 unvaccinated people, representing a 72% increased relative risk compared to those who were vaccinated

The Canadian study states that the “risks observed may also justify changes to driver insurance policies in the future.”

A user said: “The ultimate goal of these studies is to say that these people are the misfit group and deserve everything bad that happens to them. We should intentionally make their life worse.”

The new study — by researchers at Toronto’s Sunnybrook Research Institute — looked at 6,682 traffic accidents in Ontario in the summer of 2021.

Almost 1,700 of those involved in the accident had not received a single Covid vaccination.

Researchers said it “equates to a 72 percent increased relative risk compared to those who were vaccinated.”

They concluded: “This data suggests that Covid vaccine hesitation is associated with a significantly increased risk of a road accident.

‘…the observed risks could also justify changes in driver insurance policies in the future.’

dr Donald Redelmeier, the principal investigator, said: “Our study showed that traffic risks were 70 per cent more common among adults who were not vaccinated than among those who had been.

“This does not mean that the COVID-19 vaccination will directly prevent traffic accidents. Instead, it suggests that adults who don’t follow public health advice may also be disobeying traffic rules.

The research results were published this week in the American Journal of Medicine.

It went viral on social media for what people saw as outlandish and morally dubious findings.

Jason Rantz, conservative Seattle-area AM radio host, said: “This is exactly the kind of nonsense study that sets the stage for auto insurance companies to charge the unvaccinated more for coverage. It’s transparent.’

The public pounced on the study, claiming that it was wrongly targeting people who, for whatever reason, have not received the Covid vaccine

Researchers behind the study posited an association between “distrust of government, belief in freedom, misconceptions about everyday risks… exposure to misinformation, insufficient resources, and other personal beliefs” and increased risk of traffic accidents

The study had many limitations. It was based on accidents that resulted in hospitalization but did not include those accidents that were too minor to warrant hospitalization.

The sample size includes pedestrians and motorists involved in traffic accidents.

dr Clare Craig, a British diagnostic pathologist said: “Here’s a hoax from a study that claims unvaccinated people are involved in more car accidents. There’s a lot wrong with that.”

The researchers were able to make claims about the unvaccinated with this data to back them up, e.g. B. a higher recycling rate or donations to charity, since the “denominator”. [was] artificially small.’

dr Craig wasn’t the only expert who poked fun at the study.

dr Vinay Prasad, hematologist, oncologist and health researcher at the University of California San Francisco, said: “This also repeats the silly idea that GPs should specialize in driving for unvaccinated people.”

The study reported that the increased risk for unvaccinated individuals of having a traffic accident was greater than the risk associated with diabetes or dementia, and second only to the relative risk associated with a history of alcohol abuse .

The lead author Dr. Redelmeier suggested the results were more benign than they were interpreted online.

“We do not want unvaccinated people to feel persecuted and are not suggesting that they stop driving; Instead, we advise them to drive a little more cautiously.”