If something has a 94% effectiveness rate, that means it works for 94% of people, or approximately 19 out of 20 people. It also means that it fails to work for the remaining 6%, or the remaining 1 out of 20. Anyone who understands percentages, which is, I believe, taught in 4th grade, should understand that 94% is not 100%. It’s less than 100% but more than 0%.
Nevertheless, there are a lot of adults who think that if a vaccine didn’t work for one person, that means it doesn’t work, period. How did these people get through elementary school?
I recently tried to politely explain the concept of statistics to an anti-vaxxer on a social media site. The anti-vaxxer responded by telling me that I need to wake up and stop believing everything my TV tells me to believe. Someone who can’t grasp the basic concept of percentages thinks that I’m the stupid one.
A basic grasp of statistics is also important in understanding climate change. When scientists say that the average temperatures have been rising each year, a smug climate change denier “refutes” the science by saying it was cold outside yesterday.
We can’t ignore these people as if their opinions don’t matter. Some of them are elected officials!