Much like “pox parties” of the past, where families would have their kids play with another child who was sick with the chickenpox, people who are having COVID parties are hoping to get sick with the disease and gain immunity. Consequently, they are either hanging out with a person who is infected or violating stay-at-home orders in order to mingle with friends.
Why COVID-19 Parties Are a Problem
This type of logic is not only flawed but extremely dangerous. As more people get sick and numbers go up, it slows down the ability of communities and local economies to open up. People who aren’t concerned about getting the virus could spread it to someone who doesn’t want to get it because of a pre-existing condition or being immunocompromised. There have been at least two areas in the country—in Washington state and in North Carolina—where this is taking place, and possibly even more that have not been reported.
Flawed Reasoning
As COVID-19 keeps spreading, most people try to avoid catching it. But health officials are starting to worry that some people may be trying to catch it on purpose. They believe that doing so will build population immunity through a herd immunity strategy. In fact, concerns about intentional self-infection of the coronavirus have plagued health officials around the world, especially as people entertain the idea of “immunity passports.” Immunity passports are certifications that enable those who test positive for COVID-19 antibodies to travel more readily and to return to work more quickly. Because the coronavirus is new, there is no data illustrating whether or not people can develop immunity or how long it might last. For instance, are people even immune to COVID-19 and does it just last the season or longer?
What About Sweden’s Approach?
Early on in the pandemic, Sweden decided to forgo a lockdown in hopes of achieving broad immunity to the coronavirus. And even though officials promoted social distancing, they still allowed bars, restaurants, salons, gyms, and schools to stay open. Initially, death rates in Sweden were similar to other European countries that had locked things down. Meanwhile, neighbor Norway has a death rate that is ten-fold lower. Using this information as a benchmark, the ratio of deaths in Sweden compared to deaths in the U.S. is three to two. Clearly, efforts at herd immunity did not work. In fact, many scientists believe herd immunity for COVID-19 may be a long way off. According to Johns Hopkins University, 70% to 90% of the population needs immunity for a country to achieve herd immunity. For instance, if 80% of the population has immunity, then four out of every five people who encounter someone with the disease will not get sick.
Why Deliberate Transmission Is a Bad Idea
With herd immunity, the idea is that a large proportion of the population is immune to a disease, which in turn stops the spread. But knowingly exposing otherwise healthy people to a virus that is so new and unpredictable is a dangerous idea.
Vaccines Are the Best Option
Vaccination is the best way to build herd immunity. COVID-19 is just too dangerous to let the disease circulate until most people have it. Additionally, even if most adults got COVID-19 and were immune, the disease could continue to spread among children, like measles and mumps did before there were effective vaccines.
Hospitals Cannot Handle a Spike in Cases
A lot of people getting the coronavirus all at once has the potential to overwhelm the healthcare system. This would in turn leave some people without much-needed healthcare. Remember, quicker is not better. Even if everyone got the disease over time, they are more likely to receive better healthcare not only because the infections are spread out, but also because there will be more research and information available as we go on that could improve the type of care they receive.
Immunity Is Not a Given
With chickenpox, after you recovered, you were immune. But there is no guarantee of immunity with COVID-19. 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. Consequently, there is no advantage to getting the coronavirus early.
COVID-19 Is Unpredictable
Even if you just got a mild version of the illness, you could still feel pretty miserable for a long time. In fact, you could feel sick for weeks with a fever, cough, and even trouble breathing. You may even find yourself in the hospital. And worse yet, COVID-19 is deadly. Although the exact death rate is unknown at this point, current data seems to suggest that it is exponentially higher than the flu and even higher for people over age 65 and for those with underlying medical conditions.
COVID Parties Put Vulnerable People at Risk
Let’s assume you attend a COVID party and you do in fact get infected, but you are showing no symptoms. You may assume you never actually contracted the virus, and continue going about your life as if nothing has changed. But what if you were in fact sick, but just asymptomatic? You could very well infect the most vulnerable people around you—even though they are doing everything they can to avoid contracting the disease. Suddenly, your quest for immunity has some unintended consequences, especially if those vulnerable people that you unknowingly infected need to be hospitalized or even die.
What You Can Do Instead
While it’s normal to want to see family and friends again after social distancing for so long, it’s important to take the necessary steps to protect yourself and others. Intentionally exposing yourself or your family to the coronavirus is not going to get rid of COVID-19, and it’s not going to help the country to speed through the process. In fact, it may slow it down. Even if you have no desire to intentionally become infected with the coronavirus, it’s still not a good idea to have large gatherings right now. The best thing you can do is follow your state’s guidelines on mask-wearing and social distancing and limit the number of people you come in contact with. In the meantime, take advantage of all of the opportunities for online socialization via video call. The information in this article is current as of the date listed, which means newer information may be available when you read this. For the most recent updates on COVID-19, visit our coronavirus news page. Top Questions on Social Distancing Answered
