Would you volunteer to be infected?

[epythymy]

I have been giving this some thought. If the only way to beat the virus is to achieve herd immunity sooner or later, could the younger, healthier population of the country voluntarily become infected in order to protect older and more vulnerable people? I believe this was a method the Chinese used for smallpox before there was a vaccine.

If you're young, fit and well, would you volunteer yourself?

This is hypothetical, I realise it's not something that would happen.

T cells need vit d so people with low level may find themselves not immune. Blood sugar and obesity affect vit d levels

Yeah - my vit d levels are fine - had them tested and have been taking high dose vit d since feb when it was bloody obvious vit d was a factor

Probably why me and him got it mildly

But why doesn’t the government say take vit d ?

I suspect it a a race issue

In the desire not to other people of dark skin who may well be vit d deficient, they shut up shop

As a healthy, fit, white 30 year old mother of three I gasped for breath as my husband called an ambulance. It isn’t worth the risk - it was painful, both mentally and physically dreadful and the after affects are prolonged and have changed my life most likely forever (and not in a good way). I wouldn’t wish it on anyone, and wouldn’t even consider being a volunteer to be a test candidate even though I currently have antibodies.

@Alice2014

But you are In the minority - especially at your age.

Maybe play the lottery more often?

@ACautionaryTale, I think you'll find there is quite a number in that 'minority' you talk about.

@Alice2014 I'm in the same boat as you, it's been truly horrible, I wasn't worried about covid at all, how wrong was I.

You just don't know if you will be that person who is left struggling months further down the line.

No as I am in my late 40s with a high BMI. In my early 20s I might have. Certainly would never have volunteered for smallpox infection though! Horrific. I’d take my chances with Covid but not that.

I'm 40, morbidly obese, diabetic, high blood pressure, liver disease and asthma.

Nope.

I don't think anyone should. Even people up to their elbows in biology degrees still don't know what the long term effects of this virus will be.

Yes if I thought it would accelerate getting more freedom back for me or anyone else. I’ve never been remotely worried about the virus itself. It’s much lower risk to me than other things I’ve done in the last few years like giving birth and an elective operation.

I read something a couple of months ago suggesting that long term if we don’t get a vaccine children would catch covid in childhood (a bit like they currently do with chickenpox) which would build up immunity in the population and hopefully stop people getting a serious case later in life which was interesting.

Isnt this sort of unofficially happening anyway? Young healthy people are by and large going out and socialising while older people are being more careful, hence the gradual rise in cases but no rise in hospital admissions or deaths. The young people are taking their chances and some are being voluntarily infected. Although they arent all doing it for altruistic reasons!

80% of people infected with c19 have had no symptoms and I believe more of us have had it then they realise

But no I wouldn't volunteer solo parent if I get it then the whole shit show goes to ruin

@KitKatastrophe

Isnt this sort of unofficially happening anyway? Young healthy people are by and large going out and socialising while older people are being more careful, hence the gradual rise in cases but no rise in hospital admissions or deaths. The young people are taking their chances and some are being voluntarily infected. Although they arent all doing it for altruistic reasons!

Unofficially yes but if it was controlled, ie everyone infected with a small dose ideally from someone with no symptoms (in order to hopefully pass on a similar illness rather than the one where people feel really awful) and then are immediately isolated for 2 weeks, this would stop younger people getting it, not knowing and then passing it onto older and more vulnerable people.

The post about chickenpox is interesting. Not least because right now people are so worried about their children catching coronavirus despite the fact fewer children have been killed by this than chickenpox in an average year (20-25 U.K.). Chickenpox (and shingles) can be much worse if you catch it when you're older.

To those who are saying no due to how other people have behaved throughout the pandemic, what behaviour exactly are you referring to? Selfishness as in not wearing masks or just the general grassing on people who go out, shouting at those struggling etc? And would you still get the vaccine due to these feelings as the vaccine is, to all intents and purposes, herd immunity. Could potentially lead to people feeling a bit off colour etc as the flu jab can do

If it would definitely lead to a quicker return to normality with no masks and not having to book visits to places etc then yes, I absolutely would.

I'm 50 so I wouldn't. My DC are both around 30 though and if one of them told me they were volunteering to be infected, I would probably try and talk them out of it. I don't believe any of us would actually die from it but there's been too much talk of longer term health issues (including in younger people) to make me think it's a good idea to actively get infected. I'm not all manic about trying to avoid it, I've been abroad since restrictions lifted and never cleaned my shopping! But to willingly sit there and be infected is just a step too far for me.

@epythymy

To those who are saying no due to how other people have behaved throughout the pandemic, what behaviour exactly are you referring to? Selfishness as in not wearing masks or just the general grassing on people who go out, shouting at those struggling etc? And would you still get the vaccine due to these feelings as the vaccine is, to all intents and purposes, herd immunity. Could potentially lead to people feeling a bit off colour etc as the flu jab can do

Lack of social distancing, not wearing a mask because they don’t want too not because there’s a genuine exception, Large gatherings etc.

Reporting breaches isn’t “grassing” as those rules protect others. No different to reporting a break in etc. Surely we teach our children social responsibility as a parenting basic.

A vaccine is completely different and can’t be compared to those breaking the rules/guidelines.

@BigglesLiesAgain

I've been willing to carry on as normal - the REAL normal - and risk being infected as part of life in general, and have been since the beginning.

I think way, way more people than those who are terrified would believe, would have been willing to do the same.

We just weren't allowed to.

Would I, now, volunteer to be deliberately infected?
No. I've lost so much faith in my fellow humans that I've stopped caring about them enough to want to do things like that.

Same.

80% of people infected with c19 have had no symptoms

Fauci and several others say that the number of truly asymptomatic cases is around 40%, however the peer reviewed study in the link below suggests that it may be much lower than that.

"Meta-analysis of 41 studies concludes 16% of people are asymptomatic -- much lower than the 40% we've been hearing lately.
And it's 28% in kids."

onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/jmv.26326

^Antibodies don’t last in many cases but memory T cells retain the ability to recreate them

Which is why in MOST CASES you are either immune or if you do get it again it’s a lot milder because the T cells kick in^

That's only a hypothesis at the moment, there is not yet enough evidence to state that it's definitely the case.

No way, I'm happy to let everyone ahead of me in this queue.

It's a nasty virus with unpredictable outcomes. I'd prefer my heart, my lungs my brain etc to stay as healthy as they are now.

Plenty of people already volunteering anyway by having sleepovers, cuddled up selfies, multi-family meet ups.

Darwin awards!

I'd be concerned about getting long covid tbh. That sounds awful and could potentially affect anyone of any age/health.

@BigglesLiesAgain

I completely see your point of view. I would have readily carried on normal life accepting the low chance (for me personally) of dying whilst other more vulnerable members of society voluntarily self isolated. Thus building herd immunity using the less vulnerable to the benefit of the most vulnerable.

Unfortunately we didn't take that path and given the economic damage already inflicted mostly impacting the young and poor it seems insulting to now ask the young to volunteer to be infected - "sorry you lost your education / job / hope / will be paying this mess off in taxes forever- but if you don't mind volunteering to create herd immunity to benefit the elderly then that would be great"

No. I'm not that selfless.

If we knew there was never going to be a vaccine then maybe. But still probably not.

@CoffeeandCroissant

That's only a hypothesis at the moment, there is not yet enough evidence to state that it's definitely the case.

Except it's not a hypothesis. Looking at this logically if you catch Covid then either your body's immune system learns how to successfully fights off the virus and thereby developing a degree of resistance or your body doesn't manage to learn and fight off the virus in which case you die. No one knows how long that resistance will last for but by the very act of surviving you must have developed some resistance.

A family member was part of the Bristol study. I think there were two groups and only one was given a weakened version of CV.

He is a healthy man in his 20s and said he felt absolutely dreadful for a few days (although he doesn't know which illness he was infected with as there were two groups, one with CV and one with (I think) a weakened version of meningitis?).