Legendary investor Charlie Munger, in an exclusive interview with Yahoo Finance Editor-in-Chief Andy Serwer, spoke bluntly about vaccine hesitancy in the U.S.

“I have been appalled by the fear of vaccination by a big chunk of the nation,” the Berkshire Hathaway vice chairman said when asked about the COVID-19 pandemic. “Speaking for myself, I couldn’t wait to be vaccinated. And I think the risks of being vaccinated are way less than the risk of not being vaccinated."

According to the CDC, there’s a minuscule 0.002% chance of the vaccine causing death while approximately 5 people per one million vaccinated in the U.S. have gone into anaphylactic shock. In comparison, according to the CDC, unvaccinated individuals are at least 14 times more likely to die from COVID than someone who is fully vaccinated and 68 times more likely to die from the virus than someone who has received their booster shot.

About 64.5% of the U.S. population is fully vaccinated, according to the CDC, meaning that about 35.5% of the population is not fully vaccinated.

“It’s really, massively stupid not to welcome vaccination,” the 98-year-old Munger said. “We probably have 30% of the people in the country that think vaccination is evil and [is] coming after them like the hobgoblins. It’s not good that there’s that much ignorance left.”

'When I was in World War Two... they didn't ask me'

To boost vaccination rates, some parts of the country and businesses have implemented vaccine mandates. President Biden tried a similar measure for all companies with more than 100 employees, but the Supreme Court ruled that Biden overstepped his authority.

“If I were running the world, of course it would be mandatory,” Munger said. “When I was in World War Two’s army, they didn’t ask me if I wanted a vaccination. They just vaccinated me. It didn’t hurt me or anybody else in that world. We all just submitted to whatever the government told us to submit to. And it was no big deal. I don’t like big chunks of the country going crazy. And I would argue the anti-vaxxers are somewhat crazy.”

Anti-vaccine and anti-mask protests have sprung up across the world, particularly in North America. A large group of Canadian truckers — known as the Freedom Convoy — recently blocked a key bridge connecting Canada and the U.S. when protesting against their country’s vaccine mandates and restrictions by creating vehicle convoys.

“I’ve been very proud of that border for a long, long time,” Munger said, adding: "It’s ridiculous. And shutting down an international bridge. That’s the kind of thing I expect to happen in France … I never expected it to happen in the United States and Canada. And I don’t think it’s good that it did happen.”

At the end of the day, he stressed, “it’s so much safer to be vaccinated than not vaccinated and so much more considerate to your fellow citizens. It’s a massive kind of ignorance that 30% of the people have, and of course it isn’t good.”

Adriana Belmonte is a reporter and editor covering politics and health care policy for Yahoo Finance. You can follow her on Twitter @adrianambells and reach her at [email protected].

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