Ontarians unvaccinated against COVID-19 may be more at risk of traffic crashes, study finds

Individuals not vaccinated against COVID-19 may have an increased risk of being involved in a traffic crash in Ontario, a new study has found.

The research was conducted at Sunnybrook Hospital and published in The American Journal of Medicine earlier this month.

The study found that traffic risks were 50 to 70 per cent more frequent for adults who have not been vaccinated compared to those who had received their shots.

The results were similar regardless of the vaccine brand an individual received.

“This does not mean COVID-19 vaccination directly prevents traffic crashes,” Dr. Donald Redelmeier, principal investigator and senior scientist at Sunnybrook Research Institute, said in a statement.

“Instead, it suggests that adults who do not follow public health advice may also neglect the rules of the road.”

Over 11 million people were included in the study. Of those participants, about 16 per cent had not received a COVID-19 vaccine doses.

“Those who had not received a vaccine also were more likely to have a diagnosis of alcohol misuse or depression and less likely to have a diagnosis of sleep apnea, diabetes, cancer, or dementia,” the study found. “About four per cent had a past COVID diagnosis, with no major imbalance between the two groups.”

More than 6,600 car crashes were examined during the course of the study. They were defined as a patient needing to seek emergency care at a hospital and did not include minor crashes or severe ones in which there were deaths at the scene.

The survey found the traffic risks associated with vaccine hesitancy was significantly higher than the risk associated with diabetes or dementia. In fact, it was second only to the risk associated with alcohol misuse.

Redelmeier said the research isn’t meant to make unvaccinated people feel persecuted or to suggest they should stop driving.

“Instead, we suggest they drive a bit more carefully,” he added.

“Physicians counseling patients who decline COVID-19 vaccination could consider safety reminders so their patients do not become traffic statistics.”