ACCEPTED MANUSCRIPT
Published: 06 October 2021
Daniel Westreich, Jessie K Edwards, Peter W G Tennant, Eleanor J Murray, Maarten van Smeden
Abstract
In this brief communication, we discuss the confusion of mortality with fatality in the interpretation of evidence in the COVID-19 pandemic, and how this confusion affects the translation of science into policy and practice. We discuss how this confusion has influenced COVID-19 policy in France, Sweden, and the United Kingdom, and discuss the implications for decision-making about COVID-19 vaccine distribution. We also discuss how this confusion is an example of a more general statistical fallacy we term the "Missing Link Fallacy.”
This content is only available as a PDF.
Published: 06 October 2021
Daniel Westreich, Jessie K Edwards, Peter W G Tennant, Eleanor J Murray, Maarten van Smeden
Abstract
In this brief communication, we discuss the confusion of mortality with fatality in the interpretation of evidence in the COVID-19 pandemic, and how this confusion affects the translation of science into policy and practice. We discuss how this confusion has influenced COVID-19 policy in France, Sweden, and the United Kingdom, and discuss the implications for decision-making about COVID-19 vaccine distribution. We also discuss how this confusion is an example of a more general statistical fallacy we term the "Missing Link Fallacy.”
This content is only available as a PDF.