"The nation has seen the emergence of so-called "COVID-19 parties" in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic, in which partygoers attempt to contract COVID-19.
These COVID-19 parties are highly risky, not just for those who participate, and can have deadly consequences.
These meetings may also be illegal, depending on state and local ordinances.
In the middle of the coronavirus pandemic, public health authorities have a new problem to deal with parties where individuals seek to contract COVID-19 and obtain immunity to the disease.
People who have COVID parties expect to get sick with the disease and achieve immunity, much like "Pox Parties" in the past, where families would have their children play with another child who was sick with chickenpox. Consequently, to mingle with friends, they either hang out with a person who is infected or ignore stay-at-home orders.
Keep Updated: Coronavirus 2019 Comprehensive Timeline (COVID-19) Cases According to the CDC, WHO
Why Parties to COVID-19 are an issue
The problem here is that not only is this form of logic faulty, but highly dangerous. And it slows down the capacity of cities and local economies to open up as more people get sick and numbers grow.
The COVID-19 parties may cause a spike in cases instead of spreading immunity and lead individuals to suffer from serious symptoms, including death. There is no way of predicting how your body will react to the coronavirus, after all.
Another problem is that it could be spread to someone who doesn't want to get it because of a pre-existing condition or being immunocompromised by people who are not concerned about getting the virus. In the country, Washington and North Carolina, there have been at least two places where this is taking place and maybe even more that have not been identified.
John Wiesman, Secretary of Health in Washington
If individuals who recover from COVID-19 have long-term protection, it is unknown. We don't know a lot about this virus yet, including any long-term health problems that may occur after infection. In cases that further slow the ability of our state to reopen gradually, this kind of needless activity can produce a preventable uptick.
— John Wiesman, Secretary of Health in Washington
Flawed Logic
Many people try to stop catching it as COVID-19 continues to spread, but health officials are beginning to fear that certain individuals might be attempting to catch it on purpose. Via a herd immunity strategy, their aim is to create population immunity.
In fact, health officials around the world have been plagued by concerns about intentional coronavirus self-infection, especially as people entertain the idea of "immunity passports." Immunity passports are certifications that allow those who test positive for COVID-19 antibodies to travel more easily and return to work faster.
The biggest danger of knowingly exposing someone to coronavirus infection is that scientists still do not completely understand whether or not anyone who has had the virus may be reinfected again.
Since the coronavirus is new, there is no information to explain whether or not individuals will gain immunity or how long it might last. Are people even immune to COVID-19, for example, and does it only last for a season or longer?
What about the approach of Sweden?
Sweden agreed to forgo a lockout early on in the pandemic in hopes of gaining strong immunity to the coronavirus. They still allowed bars, restaurants, salons, gyms, and schools to remain open, even though they encouraged social distancing. Initially, Sweden's death rates were comparable to other European countries which had locked things down.
Now, according to the organisation Our World in Statistics, Sweden's 7-day rolling average of daily reported COVID-19 deaths per million is the highest in Europe.
Meanwhile, Norway, their neighbor, has a ten-fold lower death rate. What's more, the ratio of deaths in Sweden relative to deaths in the United States is three to two, using this knowledge as a benchmark.
Clearly, their herd immunity attempts did not succeed. In reality, many scientists think that COVID-19 herd immunity might be a long way off. For a nation to achieve herd immunity, 70 percent to 90 percent of the population requires immunity, according to Johns Hopkins. For example, if 80% of the population has immunity, four out of five individuals who meet someone with the disease won't get sick.
What Is Immunity for Herds?
Why Deliberate Transmission Is a Bad Idea
The principle of herd immunity is that a large proportion of the population is immune to a disease that prevents spreading in turn. But the issue is that it is a bad idea to deliberately expose perfectly safe people to a virus that is so fresh and unpredictable. Here are the key reasons why COVID-19 parties do not have you.
Vaccines are the safest choice
The best way to develop herd immunity is by vaccination. Until most individuals have it, COVID-19 is far too risky to let the disease circulate. Furthermore, even though most people had COVID-19 and were immune, the disease could continue to spread among children until there were successful vaccines, such as measles and mumps.
Hospitals in Cases Cannot Accommodate a Spike
The problem with multiple individuals all at once catching the coronavirus is that it has the ability to overwhelm the healthcare system. This will leave certain individuals without much-needed healthcare in turn.
Bear in mind, faster is not better. And if someone has the illness over time, not just because the diseases are spread over time, but also because there will be more testing and information available as we move on that might change the quality of treatment they get, they are more likely to receive better health care.
Immunity is not due to
You were immune to chickenpox when you recovered. With COVID-19, however, there is no assurance of immunity. If this coronavirus behaves like other coronaviruses, experts indicate that it's more likely that you will be immune for a few months or maybe even years, but not forever. There is probably no gain to having the coronavirus early, therefore.
COVID-19 Is Unforeseeable
For a long time, even though you just had a mild form of the disease, you would still feel pretty awful. Actually, with fever, cough, and even difficulty breathing, you may feel sick for weeks. In the hospital, you can also find yourself. And much worse, COVID-19 is lethal.
While at this point the exact mortality rate is unclear, existing evidence appears to indicate that it is exponentially higher than influenza and much higher for individuals over the age of 65 and for those with underlying medical conditions.
COVID Parties placed at risk Vulnerable People
Let's say that you are attending a COVID party and you are potentially sick, but you do not show any symptoms. You can believe that you have never actually contracted the virus, and continue to live your life as if nothing has changed.
But what if you were ill, but just asymptomatic, actually? While they are doing whatever they can to stop catching the disease, you might very well infect the most vulnerable people around you. Suddenly, there are some unintended consequences to your search for immunity, particularly if those vulnerable people you unknowingly infected end up having to be hospitalized or even end up dying.
What you should do instead
While it is common after social isolation to want to see family and friends again after so long, it is important to take the steps necessary to protect yourself and others. It's not going to get rid of COVID-19 to deliberately expose yourself or your family to the coronavirus, and it's not going to help the country pace through the process. It can, in fact, slow it down.
Even if you have no inclination to be contaminated with the coronavirus deliberately, holding big meetings right now is still not a good idea. So, the best thing you can do is to ensure that you follow the mask-wearing and social distancing guidelines of your state and restrict the number of individuals you come into contact with. In the meantime, use video calls to take advantage of all the resources for online socialization.
What it means to you
There's no denying they all want to go back to normal. But by being infected on purpose, we can not make COVID-19 vanish any more than we can wish it away. Consequently, adjusting to the new standard and finding innovative ways to enjoy life while still remaining healthy is the best course of action.
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