Thread by @WesElyMD

1/🧵What do CONDOMS have to do with the #COVID Vaccine?
 
The Pelzman Effect is currently threatening societal safety.

What is it & why is it important? Let’s unpack.
 
#MedTwitter #Pandemic

2/ The #vaccine, heralded as a panacea to the pandemic, risks further weakening adherence to other safety measures like social distancing & masks 😷. When people respond to safety measures with a compensatory ⬆️ in risky behavior, it’s called the “Peltzman Effect.”

3/ Example: medications allowing HIV preexposure prophylaxis (PrEP) dramatically lessened risk for HIV transmission AND were associated with decreased use of condoms, higher numbers of sexual partners, & more STDs. 😤
 
bit.ly/3xVTqPu

4/ The #COVID #Vaccine likely increases risk taking behavior because it meets the 4 major criteria of VISIBILITY, MOTIVATION, CONTROL, and EFFECTIVENESS. Here are interesting teaching points from the authors:

5/ #COVID vaccine is not like a smoke detector, working in silence in the background. Everyone #vaccinated is acutely aware of this protection.

6/ Motivation & Control go hand in hand. Risk compensation is more likely to occur if people are highly motivated to take on the risky behavior and if it is within their control to do so. It is both personally desirable & easy
to return to a prepandemic lifestyle.

7/ Effectiveness: The Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna vaccines currently granted emergency use authorization in the United States and other nations are more than 94% effective. With the Peltzman Effect, however, this high vaccine efficacy ⬇️ people’s’ adherence to other precautions!

8/ One of the most alarming features of the Peltzman Effect is its innocent bystander component. For example, car drivers pass closer on the road to bicyclists who wear helmets & give substantially more clearance to bicyclists w/out helmets.
 
bit.ly/3w1OLu3

9/ Simply witnessing someone else taking a precaution can potentially ⬆️ our willingness to take a risk. Consciously or not, even those who have not received a COVID-19 vaccine may forgo masks and social distancing if they know that others are receiving the vaccine.

10/ As the number of people vaccinated increases, this effect may also grow due to a misplaced sense of security in “herd immunity” long before widespread immunity is truly present.

11/fin 🧠
Cognitive biases thrive on our ignorance of them. Acknowledging & understanding the Peltzman Effect is critical to counteracting its possible negative effects on societal safety. We are entering a new phase of the pandemic…be smart!