The Dec. 2 letter to the editor by Thia Embers illustrates just how bad humans are at risk assessment.
She argues that a one-in-a-million chance of being injured by a vaccine should be enough for some (presumably herself included) to forgo shots for their children, thereby leaving all other Americans (especially the elderly and immuno-compromised) in greater danger.
According to the National Safety Council’s 2017 statistics, each individual had more than a 120-in-a-million chance of dying in a car crash. In fact, every 80 miles driven was equivalent to a one-in-a-million chance of dying.
I’m interested to know if Ms. Embers has also chosen to forgo driving, since her children are just as likely to die on a trip from Southwest Harbor to Bangor and back as to be injured by a vaccine.
Daniel Smith
North Yarmouth
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