On Fear

fear

/ˈfir/

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noun

1. an unpleasant emotion caused by the belief that someone or something is dangerous, likely to cause pain, or a threat.

   "he is prey to irrational fears"

verb

1. be afraid of (someone or something) as likely to be dangerous, painful, or threatening.

   "farmers fear that they will lose business"

If, while walking in the woods, I encountered a bear, I'd be fearful, because facts indicate it's much bigger than me and has ginormous claws.  That's reasonable, even though it's extremely rare for a bear to attack a human.  If I were in an area where bears frequented I might even carry bear spray with me.

If I were about to jump out of a plane, I'd be afraid.  That fear would make me ensure that my parachute was packed correctly.  If there was a 1% chance that the parachute wasn't packed right, I wouldn't jump. 

Fear can be a good thing when it's rational.  If there's a possibility of what we fear happening, we can plan for it.  

Of course there are irrational fears too.  If my 'fight or flight' instinct kicks in when presented with a picture of a bear, that's irrational, even though my body feels a shadow of the fear.  Facts indicate that there is no possible way of being harmed by a picture of a bear (except a paper cut maybe). 

I think you know where I'm going with this.  If there's a 1% chance I'll die from something and there's an action or actions I can take to alleviate that risk, I'm gonna do it.  

Get vaccinated.