Vaccines and Seat Belts: Playing the Odds<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"I got my second Covid vaccination today because like wearing seat belts, it's a good bet.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/johnbeckett\/2021\/04\/vaccines-and-seat-belts-playing-the-odds.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Vaccines and Seat Belts: Playing the Odds\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"I got my second Covid vaccination today because like wearing seat belts, it's a good bet.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/johnbeckett\/2021\/04\/vaccines-and-seat-belts-playing-the-odds.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"John Beckett\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2021-04-13T18:14:35+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2021-04-13T19:14:51+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/wp-media.patheos.com\/blogs\/sites\/243\/2021\/04\/vaccine-card.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"768\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"353\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"John Beckett\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"John Beckett\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/johnbeckett\/2021\/04\/vaccines-and-seat-belts-playing-the-odds.html\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/johnbeckett\/2021\/04\/vaccines-and-seat-belts-playing-the-odds.html\",\"name\":\"Vaccines and Seat Belts: Playing the Odds\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/johnbeckett\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2021-04-13T18:14:35+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2021-04-13T19:14:51+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/johnbeckett\/#\/schema\/person\/b4c8980dc36f971434424c304ca429ad\"},\"description\":\"I got my second Covid vaccination today because like wearing seat belts, it's a good bet.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/johnbeckett\/2021\/04\/vaccines-and-seat-belts-playing-the-odds.html#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/johnbeckett\/2021\/04\/vaccines-and-seat-belts-playing-the-odds.html\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/johnbeckett\/2021\/04\/vaccines-and-seat-belts-playing-the-odds.html#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/johnbeckett\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Vaccines and Seat Belts: Playing the Odds\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/johnbeckett\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/johnbeckett\/\",\"name\":\"John Beckett\",\"description\":\"Musings of a Druid, Pagan, and Unitarian Universalist.\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/johnbeckett\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/johnbeckett\/#\/schema\/person\/b4c8980dc36f971434424c304ca429ad\",\"name\":\"John Beckett\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/johnbeckett\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/0f50bfa2a79f70103847fe75540bb29c?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/0f50bfa2a79f70103847fe75540bb29c?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"John Beckett\"},\"description\":\"I grew up in Tennessee with the woods right outside my back door. Wandering through them gave me a sense of connection to Nature and to a certain Forest God. I\u2019m a Druid graduate of the Order of Bards, Ovates and Druids, the Coordinating Officer of the Denton Covenant of Unitarian Universalist Pagans and a former Vice President of CUUPS Continental. I\u2019ve been writing, speaking, teaching, and leading public rituals for the past eleven years. I live in the Dallas \u2013 Fort Worth area and I earn my keep as an engineer.\",\"sameAs\":[\"http:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/johnbeckett\/\"],\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/johnbeckett\/author\/johnbeckett\"}]}<\/script>\n","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Vaccines and Seat Belts: Playing the Odds","description":"I got my second Covid vaccination today because like wearing seat belts, it's a good bet.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/johnbeckett\/2021\/04\/vaccines-and-seat-belts-playing-the-odds.html","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Vaccines and Seat Belts: Playing the Odds","og_description":"I got my second Covid vaccination today because like wearing seat belts, it's a good bet.","og_url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/johnbeckett\/2021\/04\/vaccines-and-seat-belts-playing-the-odds.html","og_site_name":"John Beckett","article_published_time":"2021-04-13T18:14:35+00:00","article_modified_time":"2021-04-13T19:14:51+00:00","og_image":[{"width":768,"height":353,"url":"https:\/\/wp-media.patheos.com\/blogs\/sites\/243\/2021\/04\/vaccine-card.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"John Beckett","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"John Beckett","Est. reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/johnbeckett\/2021\/04\/vaccines-and-seat-belts-playing-the-odds.html","url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/johnbeckett\/2021\/04\/vaccines-and-seat-belts-playing-the-odds.html","name":"Vaccines and Seat Belts: Playing the Odds","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/johnbeckett\/#website"},"datePublished":"2021-04-13T18:14:35+00:00","dateModified":"2021-04-13T19:14:51+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/johnbeckett\/#\/schema\/person\/b4c8980dc36f971434424c304ca429ad"},"description":"I got my second Covid vaccination today because like wearing seat belts, it's a good bet.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/johnbeckett\/2021\/04\/vaccines-and-seat-belts-playing-the-odds.html#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/johnbeckett\/2021\/04\/vaccines-and-seat-belts-playing-the-odds.html"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/johnbeckett\/2021\/04\/vaccines-and-seat-belts-playing-the-odds.html#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/johnbeckett"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Vaccines and Seat Belts: Playing the Odds"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/johnbeckett\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/johnbeckett\/","name":"John Beckett","description":"Musings of a Druid, Pagan, and Unitarian Universalist.","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/johnbeckett\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/johnbeckett\/#\/schema\/person\/b4c8980dc36f971434424c304ca429ad","name":"John Beckett","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/johnbeckett\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/0f50bfa2a79f70103847fe75540bb29c?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/0f50bfa2a79f70103847fe75540bb29c?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"John Beckett"},"description":"I grew up in Tennessee with the woods right outside my back door. Wandering through them gave me a sense of connection to Nature and to a certain Forest God. I\u2019m a Druid graduate of the Order of Bards, Ovates and Druids, the Coordinating Officer of the Denton Covenant of Unitarian Universalist Pagans and a former Vice President of CUUPS Continental. I\u2019ve been writing, speaking, teaching, and leading public rituals for the past eleven years. I live in the Dallas \u2013 Fort Worth area and I earn my keep as an engineer.","sameAs":["http:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/johnbeckett\/"],"url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/johnbeckett\/author\/johnbeckett"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/johnbeckett\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22063","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/johnbeckett\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/johnbeckett\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/johnbeckett\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1129"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/johnbeckett\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=22063"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/johnbeckett\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22063\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/johnbeckett\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/22064"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/johnbeckett\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=22063"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/johnbeckett\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=22063"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/johnbeckett\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=22063"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}

{"id":22063,"date":"2021-04-13T12:14:35","date_gmt":"2021-04-13T18:14:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/johnbeckett\/?p=22063"},"modified":"2021-04-13T13:14:51","modified_gmt":"2021-04-13T19:14:51","slug":"vaccines-and-seat-belts-playing-the-odds","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/johnbeckett\/2021\/04\/vaccines-and-seat-belts-playing-the-odds.html","title":{"rendered":"Vaccines and Seat Belts: Playing the Odds"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

I got my second Covid vaccination today \u2013 the Pfizer, for those who are dividing everyone up into houses.<\/p>\n

$\"\"$ <\/a><\/p>\n

When I was 10 years old there was a terrible car wreck about a quarter mile from my house: a high-speed, head-on collision between two cars with early 1970s safety technology (i.e. \u2013 pretty much nothing). Everyone involved was killed, and one car burned in a way rarely seen outside of movies.<\/p>\n

Word in the neighborhood was that the couple in the burning car survived the crash but then burned to death because they couldn\u2019t get their seat belts unfastened.<\/p>\n

I don\u2019t know how anybody knew that. Maybe it was true and maybe it wasn\u2019t. What\u2019s certain is that the story made a huge impression on 10-year-old me. I refused to wear a seat belt from then on (Tennessee didn\u2019t have a seat belt law<\/a> until 1986 and didn\u2019t enforce it until 2004).<\/p>\n

That was a bad bet on my part.<\/p>\n

The odds on a seat belt malfunction trapping you in a burning car are infinitesimally small. The odds on a seat belt preventing you from being thrown from a vehicle or crushing your head on the windshield are significant. I was in my early 20s before I actually looked at the statistics and the change was immediate. I buckled my seat belt the next time I got in a car and I\u2019ve done it ever since.<\/p>\n

Like wearing a seat belt the Covid vaccine isn\u2019t certain, but it\u2019s a good bet.<\/p>\n

I have some friends who keep saying vaccination is \u201ca personal choice.\u201d I don\u2019t see it that way, but ultimately they\u2019re right \u2013 you can<\/em> choose to take it, or not.<\/p>\n

But the odds are clear<\/a>: being vaccinated is a significantly better bet than not being vaccinated (those who cannot be vaccinated due to drug allergies or other medical complications have my deepest sympathies).<\/p>\n

If you\u2019re still undecided, I encourage you to play the odds.<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"