Reports of a TikTok trend have been branded a ‘risky’ move by health experts.
Health experts have branded reports of Aussies trying to get infected with Covid as a “risky move”.
Recent reports have emerged of people deliberately trying to catch the virus, in a bid to avoid extended isolation or because they believe it’s inevitable.
Former Big Brother contestant Tully Smyth recently posted on social media that her boyfriend had tested positive and she’d move in with him to “hopefully catch it sooner rather than later”.
The double vaxxed influencer followed up after concern from her fans, saying by isolating with her partner she’d have less chance of infecting her flat mate and would “just prefer to get it now” so they isolate at the same time.
A TikTok user in Queensland shared a video to the app showing her mum drinking the remainder of her orange juice so she could infect herself with Covid-19 and begin her second round of isolation sooner.
“When your Covid positive and mum drinks your OJ [sic] to try and get Covid ASAP so we aren’t in extended iso [sic],” a caption on the video reads.
In the video, the woman can be heard telling her mother “happy Covid” before saying “bottoms up”.
Her mother smiles at the camera before taking and drinking the juice.
Meanwhile city leaders on the Gold Coast have slammed anti-vaxxers hosting Covid parties designed to purposely expose people to the virus.
Australian National University epidemiologist Dr Katrina Roper advised against people trying to get deliberately infected.
“I’ve heard these rumours too and I have no evidence that it’s real,” she said of the parties.
“From a science point of view, if a person is unvaccinated, it’s quite a risky move because you don’t know how you’re going to respond.
“If you don’t know the strain type of the virus, you could be rolling the dice that maybe you’re one of those unlucky people that ends up with a more serious form of Covid, say the Delta form and you could have a more serious illness which may not be particularly pleasant.”
Dr Roper said the evidence is strong that vaccinated people who get the Omicron strain are highly likely to have a mild illness.
“But whether or not you’d recommend a person go and try to get Covid is something else,” she added.
Dr Roper said chickenpox parties were common during her childhood, in the knowledge some children would develop more serious illness.
Most came out unscathed, but this was pre-vaccination, she said.
“I’m fairly sure now most parents will have the vaccination and not try to get their child to have an infection and develop an infection based immunity,” she said.
Royal Australian College of General Practitioners vice president Bruce Willett said so-called Covid parties were “ridiculous” and made “no sense at all”.
“This sort of behaviour threatens to overwhelm medical services,” he told 2GB on Tuesday.
“They will get immunity to Covid but it’s not substantially better than getting the immunisation and at an extraordinarily higher risk.
“They won’t have permanent immunity, they will still be vulnerable to getting Covid down the track, that’s pretty clear.
“At some stage, they will need a booster like the rest of us.”
Originally published as New popular TikTok trend branded a ‘risky move’ by health experts
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