Covid 'pox parties'

[User135644]

With the announcement this week of basically "we're all going to get Covid now, so crack on with life", i've heard a few people now locally looking to arrange Covid parties now. This is so they can get Covid 'before freedom day', or specifically before their holiday in August, therefore they don't have to worry about testing positive or catching it while on holiday.

Will these be the new 'Pox parties' over the next few weeks?

@LakeShoreD

Is this something to do with certain countries, France for instance, wavering quarantine with 2 vaccines or 1 vaccine plus having had covid? If it is they’d probably be better off trying to move up their second vaccine appointment. Walk in centres are often happy to do Pfizer or Moderna with as little as a 3 week gap. I did this and now I’m double jabbed and ready to travel!

Other countries don't have enough vaccines

Update: one of the people referenced in the OP now has Covid and is boasting about how clever they are to get it now after going looking for it, so they can now enjoy their holiday in August. Said person actually expects to be showered in praise for such foresight

@User135644 don’t quote me on this - but someone told me they had Covid, recovered, but were still testing positive some weeks later. Not sure how that would work with travelling abroad…

@UndercoverToad I think this has been accounted for. I’m sure I read some countries will count a recent negative test or proof of a recent infection (there was a time limit on it that I can’t remember). It makes sense since you can’t have a vaccination within a month of a recent infection.

The OP’s acquaintances are still bloody stupid though.

[quote UndercoverToad]@User135644 don’t quote me on this - but someone told me they had Covid, recovered, but were still testing positive some weeks later. Not sure how that would work with travelling abroad…[/quote]
This. You can still test positive for weeks after!
Completely and utterly ridiculous idea.

A child I know was testing positive after his isolation and when he had the infection. Track and trace said that this was normal so I wouldn't bank on a negative test after you have isolated.

@Cornettoninja - I’m not sure either! This person still had to be isolated/separate room in hospital as they were testing positive. Even though they’d recovered…

@StrawberrySundayz

Getting Covid once doesn’t make you immune to it.

Most studies show immunity after infection lasts for over 8 months in the majority of people. The vaccines don’t guarantee long term immunity either but people are still get special treatment for having them.

But you can get infected with more than one variant at a time.

@LIZS

They do realise that pcr tests can show positive for over 3 months afterwards, so it may not be a benefit to catch it just before a holiday.

Proof of recovery from infection is also valid.

@bumbleymummy - how do you get proof of recovery if still testing positive?

But you can catch it more than once, so it doesn’t protect you by getting it anyway. There have even been a few cases where people have had more than one variant at once. I don’t really agree with deliberately catching Chicken Pox either, but most people only have that once, and it’s less severe as a child, so I see the theory at least.

Dh has already been asked back for his booster. It’s looking like every 3 months.

Going by Dds immunity. Given we think we all had it in December 2019. In February 2020, December 2020 and April 2021 dd was working very closely with groups of people where everyone else (apart from those who had it within the previous few months) ended up testing positive for Covid.
But she didn’t do I think it is definitely longer than 1 year even up to 16 months

[quote UndercoverToad]@bumbleymummy - how do you get proof of recovery if still testing positive?[/quote]
Proof of a positive test within a certain time period. Obviously you can’t travel while you’re still supposed to be in isolation!

[quote UndercoverToad]@bumbleymummy - how do you get proof of recovery if still testing positive?[/quote]
Proof of a diagnostic test result and then they count from that date till xxx?

I think the person you know may be unusual in that there’s no universal or community requirement for people to test negative before their isolation ends so most people wouldn’t know they were still testing positive.

@Cornettoninja yes - I’m wondering if it was because she was being treated in hospital?? - I shall ask her!

But...you can get it again? It's not like chicken pox where you get it out of the way when they're little and then likely as not you're fine for life. You can get this again?! Infect yourself at a pox party now, have a great summer and be ripe for reinfection come winter when it will be raging and competing with flu season and the NHS will be struggling again.... 🙄

If you need a negative PCR test for travel, this is a really stupid idea.

PCRs can return positive for 3 months after a Covid case.

It's far more likely to ruin their holiday than safeguard it.

@Sunflowergirl1

A load of kids at DS school did it with some fuckwit parent thinking a big party for kids would be a great idea....so far 30 have tested positive and counting. The whole school year is now out

Which school?

Chickenpox is different - you can only catch it once. Covid can be caught multiple times so you’re not protected by having had it. But both diseases can be vaccinated against so I’m not sure why you’d need to catch them anyway?

You can catch chicken pox more than once, but it's extremely unlikely. There have been several cases of people who have caught covid after vaccination, and who have caught it more than once, so you don't gain anything by catching it as you might with chickenpox. Most people seem to get it more mildly after vaccination or having had it before, but there are a few who don't - there have still been hospitalizations and deaths. Some people will have conditions making them clinically vulnerable that they won't know about. Even if you usually have a pretty robust immune response and don't get laid low by bugs which are circulating - this could be the one time it's different. Most people will get it mildly, but you can't know if you'll be the one who doesn't.

People are free to make their own decisions, but I don't think I'd be rushing to a party where the aim is specifically to get a disease (though as it finally seems to be warming up, I am okay with the idea of a garden party.)