Institute For The Future

Swine Flu Parties?

Taking a cue from chicken pox parties, stray groups of people around the country are apparently looking into holding Swine Flu Parties--something, I should note, one flu expert from Weil Medical College of Cornell described as "totally nuts" and another described as "very foolish." In slightly more bureaucratic terms, the Centers for Disease Control say that the "CDC does not recommend 'swine flu parties'" but instead "recommends that people with novel H1N1 flu avoid contact with others as much as possible" by staying home from work or school for seven days.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The theory behind the parties seems to be that initial strains of the swine flu virus are relatively mild, and that by building up immunity against the virus now, people will be protecting themselves in case the virus suddenly mutates into something more dangerous. As experts note, however the virus is unpredictable and can cause severe symptoms (like dying), getting infected intentionally doesn't actually make sense. Or, in other words, getting infected intentionally is "totally nuts."