Are you considering catching the Omicron variant of coronavirus purposely to get it over with once and for all?
Experts advise against this.
Here are a few reasons why purposely catching COVID-19 is an unwise decision:.
It's More Than a Bad Cold: Even mild cases of the Omicron variant could debilitate you for days, health officials say. Though the Omicron variant is much milder than Delta, experts say catching it on purpose is still like "playing with dynamite."
"It's just less severe. But you don't have a 0% chance of dying. You should never want to get infected." Dr. Paul Offit, director of the Vaccine Education Center at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, via CNN.
Long COVID: Long COVID is a peculiar phenomenon brought on by the pandemic. Symptoms such as shortness of breath, fatigue and brain fog are often associated with the condition.
"We're still trying to understand long COVID. Because we don't understand it, I wouldn't be so quick to want to get an infection from a natural virus." Dr. Paul Offit, director of the Vaccine Education Center at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, via CNN.
Overcrowded Hospitals: Per the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, almost a quarter of the nation's hospitals have now reported a "critical staff shortage."
"The health care system is not just designed to take care of people with COVID." Dr. Ashish Jha, dean of Brown University School of Public Health, via CNN.
"It's designed to take care of kids with appendicitis and people who have heart attacks and get into car accidents." Dr. Ashish Jha, dean of Brown University School of Public Health, via CNN.
"And all of that is going to be much, much more difficult because we have a large proportion of the population that is not vaccinated." Dr. Ashish Jha, dean of Brown University School of Public Health, via CNN
