Vaccinated Americans more likely to die from a lightning strike than Covid (opens in new tab)

(washingtonpost.com)

12 pointsthrowkeep4y ago24 comments

24 comments

neolog4y ago

- 41 lightning deaths per year in the USA [1] out of 328M people. 41/328M = 1.25e-7

- 1,263 covid deaths in the USA out of 163M vaccinated [2]. 1263/163M = 7.75e-6 and it's not even August.

Seems wrong, by more than (vaccinated=1263/163M)/(lightning=41/328M) = 62x. Or am I missing something?

[1] https://www.washingtonpost.com/weather/2021/06/08/us-weather...

[2] https://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/covid-19/health-departments/bre...

Fjolsvith4y ago

No, you pegged the piece properly.

shadowgovt4y ago

Your second numerator should be COVID deaths of vaccinated people, not total COVID deaths.

ohiovr4y ago

Well there are more thunderstorms this year, in Ohio at least. Even brick walls are getting destroyed by them.

ed4y ago

In 2021 there were no lightning deaths in the US as of June [0]. This stat compares the lifetime odds of death from lightning [1] to several months of covid data.

0 - https://www.washingtonpost.com/weather/2021/06/08/us-weather...

1 - https://injuryfacts.nsc.org/all-injuries/preventable-death-o...

mint24y ago

Yes the author of this article seems not to know statistics very well and is comparing apples to oranges, and why did wapo let it get published with such glaring wrong logic. Being an opinion piece doesn’t mean throw out all standards.

1 more reply

eesmith4y ago

3 deaths as of 7/20/2021 - https://www.weather.gov/safety/lightning-fatalities . The first was on June 9th, one day after your [0].

2021 has had an uncommonly low number of deaths. The same link says the 10 year average is 25 fatalities per year, and on average about 7 by the end of July.

rsynnott4y ago

Funnily enough, one of the reported SAEs for the original Moderna trial was a (non-fatal) lightning strike. Obviously, this was nothing to do with the vaccine, but Moderna did have to declare it.

peakaboo4y ago

Unlike me, who is unvaccinated. And in rather have a lighting strike hit me in the head than take that vaccine. 100%.

Tagbert4y ago

What facts do you use to justify that risk calculation to yourself? Or is it more of an “ick” factor?

blacktriangle4y ago

I love how the burden of proof is apparently on the people who don't want to take the highly experimental rushed to market treatment that is making its manufacture (and those in government who are linked to said manufacturers) rich. I swear it only took 5 years to convert everybody from "don't trust the gov" to "blindly trust the government!"

1 more reply

blacktriangle4y ago

In other news, unvaccinated Americans more likely to die from a lightning strike than Covid.

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24 comments

neolog4y ago

- 41 lightning deaths per year in the USA [1] out of 328M people. 41/328M = 1.25e-7

- 1,263 covid deaths in the USA out of 163M vaccinated [2]. 1263/163M = 7.75e-6 and it's not even August.

Seems wrong, by more than (vaccinated=1263/163M)/(lightning=41/328M) = 62x. Or am I missing something?

[1] https://www.washingtonpost.com/weather/2021/06/08/us-weather...

[2] https://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/covid-19/health-departments/bre...

Fjolsvith4y ago

No, you pegged the piece properly.

shadowgovt4y ago

Your second numerator should be COVID deaths of vaccinated people, not total COVID deaths.

ohiovr4y ago

Well there are more thunderstorms this year, in Ohio at least. Even brick walls are getting destroyed by them.

ed4y ago

In 2021 there were no lightning deaths in the US as of June [0]. This stat compares the lifetime odds of death from lightning [1] to several months of covid data.

0 - https://www.washingtonpost.com/weather/2021/06/08/us-weather...

1 - https://injuryfacts.nsc.org/all-injuries/preventable-death-o...

mint24y ago

1 more reply

eesmith4y ago

3 deaths as of 7/20/2021 - https://www.weather.gov/safety/lightning-fatalities . The first was on June 9th, one day after your [0].

2021 has had an uncommonly low number of deaths. The same link says the 10 year average is 25 fatalities per year, and on average about 7 by the end of July.

rsynnott4y ago

Funnily enough, one of the reported SAEs for the original Moderna trial was a (non-fatal) lightning strike. Obviously, this was nothing to do with the vaccine, but Moderna did have to declare it.

peakaboo4y ago

Unlike me, who is unvaccinated. And in rather have a lighting strike hit me in the head than take that vaccine. 100%.

Tagbert4y ago

What facts do you use to justify that risk calculation to yourself? Or is it more of an “ick” factor?

blacktriangle4y ago

1 more reply

blacktriangle4y ago

In other news, unvaccinated Americans more likely to die from a lightning strike than Covid.

j / k navigate · click thread line to collapse