Should you get COVID-19 on purpose?

Jan. 26—EAU CLAIRE — Reports have sprung up across the country about people holding COVID-19 parties to intentionally contract the coronavirus.

For those thinking about exposing themselves to COVID-19 on purpose because they assume they'll get a mild case and gain immunity, health officials say they should think again.

A pair of Eau Claire health officials recently weighed in on the concept of COVID parties, also sometimes known as "corona parties" or "lockdown parties," both answering with a resounding "no" when asked if attending such an event or otherwise intentionally getting infected with the virus is a good idea.

With some saying it's inevitable that everybody or nearly everybody will get it, should people intentionally get infected with COVID-19? Why or why not?

"No, it is not recommended that people get intentionally ill," said Audrey Boerner, public information officer for the Eau Claire City-County Health Department.

Some individuals can have very serious illness or long-term impacts that may last weeks to months, Boerner explained.

Dr. Adel Zurob, medical director of critical care at Mayo Clinic Health System in Eau Claire, said roughly a quarter of COVID-19 patients still have some symptoms weeks or months after contracting the virus.

Long-haul COVID-19 symptoms can include brain fog, fatigue, shortness of breath, cough, pounding heart, joint or muscle pain, dizziness or change in sense of smell or taste, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The risk of serious or long-term illness is a major reason it doesn't make sense for people to put themselves in harm's way, Zurob said.

"It's one thing to get it by accident," he said, "but to intentionally try to catch something, I'd say, 'Don't mess with Mother Nature. You're not going to win.' "

How would you respond to folks who might say, "I'm healthy. If I get infected, I probably won't get very sick. I'll get it over with and then I'll be immune"?

People who think that are misguided, Zurob said, bemoaning the spread of misinformation amid the pandemic.

The problem is that COVID-19 is unpredictable.

"Just because you're young doesn't mean you won't get a bad case," Zurob said. "You don't know if your case will be like a little cold or if you might be hospitalized. You can't predict your own outcome. You may be lucky, but you may not be lucky."

But doesn't the omicron variant generally lead to milder illness?

While early studies have shown that omicron symptoms usually are milder than previous strains of COVID-19, there's still no guarantee you won't be hospitalized or even die from omicron, Zurob said, noting that more young people appear to be contracting omicron than the delta variant.

Have you heard of local examples of this concept?

Yes, Zurob said, he knows of regional residents who attended COVID parties before becoming COVID patients.

If you get infected, how long are you actually protected?

The depends, Zurob said.

"You might have a good deal of protection for a few months from the same strain of the virus, but there's no guarantee you'll be immune from reinfection with another strain," he said, citing the example of patients who were sickened by both the delta and omicron variants.

Zurob said more infections also give the virus more opportunities to mutate into new variants, each of which potentially could be more dangerous or lead to fewer people with immunity.

What is the potential impact on others from someone getting infected on purpose?

The omicron variant is highly contagious, and you could have a mild case but still unknowingly spread the virus to others who are not able to be vaccinated and who could have serious short-term or long-term impacts, Boerner said.

Zurob stressed the same point, saying, "You may be fine, but you can pass it to others around you who will not be fine. You have a responsibility to your community to try to abort this infection and try not to pass it along to other people."

In addition, Boerner said, hospitals are counting on area residents to help them not be overwhelmed.

"We know we have about 40% of our population that is not vaccinated," Boerner said. "It is much more likely that unvaccinated individuals will be hospitalized. Intentionally getting COVID does not help our healthcare system."

Indeed, medical officials have reported for weeks that local hospitals are at or near capacity, a situation complicated by staffing problems due to the high number of health care workers contracting the virus.

Zurob noted that beds dedicated to COVID-19 patients are unavailable to patients seeking care for heart attacks, strokes, surgeries or other conditions.

"I think our calculus as citizens should go beyond 'what is going to happen to me,' " Zurob said.

Any other risks people should be aware of?

The threat posed by high COVID-19 case counts carries over into many aspects of society, Zurob said, pointing to supply chain disruptions, flight cancellations, temporary business closings, school impacts and other side effects that can be devastating to individuals and communities.

"I think honestly the point we have to drive home is that all of these things are why we want you to get vaccinated, wear a mask and social distance," he said. "It's not just if you're going to die or not."

What's the best way to get protection against COVID-19?

The safer and most effective protection against COVID-19 is to get vaccinated and boosted when eligible, Boerner said, adding that the Health Department also recommends other layers of protection such as consistently wearing well-fitting masks, distancing, avoiding large group gatherings and hand washing.

"Even if you do get sick after being vaccinated, the research is clear that your risk of getting seriously sick is significantly lower," Boerner said.

Zurob echoed those sentiments and said everyone needs to take responsibility for the whole community.

"The way we're going to get out of this pandemic is by staying healthy, not by trying to get sick," Zurob said.

Is this somewhat similar to the concept once promoted by some of having chickenpox parties for kids to "get it over with"?

"We never recommend that people get intentionally infected with any disease to develop immunity or 'get it over with,' " Boerner said. "When there are vaccines available, which there is for chickenpox as well, vaccination is recommended to provide protection from serious illness."