Everyone talks about how the 98% prevention rate is over the course of a year. How does this relate to a per use scenario and why do they use the by year rate vs the per use. I feel like the per use would be much lower.
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Per use has to be higher than 98% in that case, because that’s just how math works. If the per use percentage were lower, say 95%, it would be statistically impossible to hit a 98% success rate in trials over the course of a year.
If something is 98% effective over a year of use, depending on how many the average use is, the effectiveness would likely be above 99%, and likely super close to 100%.
Since condom tests are done with couples who use condoms regularly over the course of a year, let’s just throw out a number and say that they have sex once a week. 52 uses per year, and let’s assume that gets us to a 98% effectiveness rate. This means that the effectiveness per use is about 99.96%. And if we were to start with a higher usage rate per year (more than once weekly, which is perfectly likely), we’d be even higher. Used properly, condoms have an awesome success rate. But *used properly* is the key here!
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