不要参加 'Covid Party'
Here’s Why You Shouldn’t Go To A ‘Covid Party’
By Robert Glatter
Do you still believe that SARS-CoV-2, the virus responsible for Covid-19, is a hoax?
Well a 30 year old male in San Antonio, Texas who recently attended a “Covid party” believing that the virus might be a hoax is now dead.
He reportedly told nurses before he died this week at Methodist Hospital in San Antonio, “I think I made a mistake. I thought this was a hoax, but it’s not.”
Dr. Jane Appleby, the Chief Medical Officer for Methodist Hospital and Methodist Children’s Hospital, released a statement indicating that the man had attended a gathering with an infected individual to determine if the coronavirus was real. He wanted to see whether he could get infected after attending the event.
Appleby shared his story as a warning to others throughout the US, where coronavirus cases are surging in a majority of states.
There are also reports in Tuscaloosa, Alabama of organizers throwing Covid parties at the University, with students competing to see who can catch Covid-19 first. Organizers intentionally invite persons who have Covid-19, money is put into a pot, and whoever contracts the virus first wins the pot of money. This led to warnings from the University of Alabama regarding the risk to students, but state health officials have not confirmed the existence of the actual parties.
Texas recorded 8,332 new cases on Saturday, according to data from the New York Times. In Texas, there have been over 3.200 deaths with over 258,000 cases.
The basis for holding Covid parties, so the thinking goes, is similar to the concept of holding a “chicken pox party” in order to get the disease and just “get it over with,” in order to gain immunity. But the two diseases are quite different and “getting it over with” likely holds a higher degree of uncertainty with respect to Covid-19.
Throwing a pox party was more common before arrival of the chicken pox (Varicella) vaccine in 1995. It was a way parents could expose their children to the chicken pox virus, allow them to get the infection and develop immunity. In this way, they could avoid getting the disease as an adult where complications are more severe and deadly. Such complications include pneumonia or a brain infection associated with swelling known as encephalitis. But knowingly exposing anyone to the chicken pox virus in this manner, even now, poses much more danger compared to any possible risks from vaccine itself.
The CDC has warned that people infected with the coronavirus should not attend gatherings or parties. Simply put, any event where people do not practice social distancing and do not consistently wear face coverings represent significant risk for transmission. Such is also the case with congregating at bars— due to alcohol’s ability to reduce inhibitions, encouraging people to gather closer while speaking, spreading virus-laden droplets which may become airborne, existing as aerosols for up to 3 hours.
So how much do you value your life?
In the age of Covid-19, its an important question to ask yourself if you receive an invite to a “Covid party.”
Bu the choice is easy if you get a text to attend: Your RSVP should not be a yes or maybe, but a resounding NO.
Simply put, attending such a party represents an unnecessary risk at best, with unknown consequences that include respiratory failure, the need for mechanical ventilation, a heart attack, stroke, chronic and unrelenting fevers, fatigue, chest pain and difficulty breathing if you do survive.
But the risk of dying is the one consequence that should really stick in your mind.