Jab fears explained: a base rate fallacy
Why increasing numbers of Covid infections among the vaccinated can be explained by a statistical phenomenon.
As some countries rapidly roll out vaccination programmes, there have been concerns that increases in infection rates amongst vaccinated groups mean vaccines are less effective than we hoped, especially in the face of the feared Delta variant.
Epidemiologist Dr Katelyn Jetelina from the University of Texas Health Science Centre School of Public Health explains why this isn’t what the numbers show – rather than decreasing vaccine effectiveness, increasing rates can be explained by a statistical phenomenon known as ‘base rate fallacy’.
Presenter: Charlotte McDonald
Producer: Nathan Gower
Last on
More episodes
Broadcasts
- Sat 7 Aug 2021 04:50GMT91¸£ÀûÉç World Service except East Asia & South Asia
- Sun 8 Aug 2021 13:50GMT91¸£ÀûÉç World Service
- Sun 8 Aug 2021 21:50GMT91¸£ÀûÉç World Service except South Asia
- Mon 9 Aug 2021 09:50GMT91¸£ÀûÉç World Service
Unlock the history and truth behind the data with The OU
Explore how numbers shape, and sometimes mislead us, with The Open University.
When can you trust statistics?
Podcast
-
More or Less
Tim Harford explains the numbers and statistics used in everyday life
