Coronavirus vs Chickenpox: Don’t Have Parties

Don’t have parties, it is not a good or a smart idea to do so during the era of social distancing. The coronavirus is not the chicken pox, having pox parties will not help in this situation. If you want to compare this pandemic to something similar, think about the Black Plague or Black Death in the 1300’s to the early 16th century. How many people died from the Black Plague?

According to Britannica.com, it was “a rough estimate [. . .] that 25 million people in Europe died from plague during the Black Death. The population of western Europe did not again reach its pre-1348 level until the beginning of the 16th century.”

Chicken Pox

Chicken pox is a contagious viral infection, which mainly affects children. This disease causes your flesh to have an itchy, blister-like rash to appear. It’s most characteristic symptom is the itchy rash on the skin, but there are other symptoms to this disease. People who have chicken pox also have a fever, fatigue, a headache, itching, a sore throat, swollen lymph nodes, and a loss of appetite. Although chicken pox is contagious to anyone who never had the disease or were not vaccinated for it, it is a short-term disease which will resolve itself within a few days or weeks.

According to CDC.gov, “Chickenpox vaccine became available in the United States in 1995. Each year, more than 3.5 million cases of chickenpox, 9,000 hospitalizations, and 100 deaths are prevented by chickenpox vaccination in the United States. CDC recommends two doses of chickenpox vaccine for children, adolescents, and adults who have never had chickenpox and were never vaccinated. Children are routinely recommended to receive the first dose at age 12 through 15 months and the second dose at age 4 through 6 years.”

Chicken Pox Parties

According to medicalnewstoday.com, “Chicken pox is a highly contagious viral infection that commonly affects children. Although a vaccine is available, some people prefer their children to build up immunity to the virus by attending chicken pox parties, or ‘pox parties.’ Before the chicken pox vaccine, many people used pox parties as a way to infect their children with the virus to help them move past the illness sooner rather than later. More recently, pox parties have regained popularity with some individuals who do not want their child to have the vaccine but still want them to develop immunity to the virus. Chicken pox parties remain controversial. While some people argue that they are low risk when people run them correctly, others believe that they are unethical and potentially dangerous. The medical community still considers vaccination to be the safest way to develop immunity to chickenpox.”

Coronavirus (COVID-19)

Coronavirus, or COVID-19, is not like chicken pox. COVID-19 is a global pandemic that still has no known cure ready for the public. The common symptoms of the coronavirus consist of a fever, tiredness and a dry cough. However, some people may experience aches and pains, nasal congestion, runny nose, a sore throat, and diarrhea. On an average, it takes these symptoms five to six days from when someone is infected with the virus for these symptoms to show. These symptoms can take up to 14 days. People with mild symptoms who are healthy should isolate themselves during this time. You should seek medical attention if you have a fever, cough and difficulty breathing.

There are a total of 719,686 cases of the virus in the United States. While on a global scale, there is a total of 2,296,729 confirmed cases and 157,949 deaths from the coronavirus outbreak as of April 18, 2020. The coronavirus has taken a total of 38,200 people in the United States and the number is growing.

And to make matters worse, according to the Huffington Post, “The novel coronavirus kills by inflaming and clogging the tiny air sacs in the lungs. But clinicians around the world are seeing evidence that suggests the virus also may be causing heart inflammation, acute kidney disease, neurological malfunction, and liver problems. That development has complicated treatment for the most severe cases of COVID-19, the illness caused by the virus, and makes the course of recovery less certain, medical professionals say. Early data [. . .] shows 14 to 30% of intensive-care patients in New York and Wuhan, China– birthplace of the pandemic– have lost kidney function and require dialysis, or its in-hospital cousin, continuous renal replacement therapy.”

Hopefully, there will be a vaccine ready for the public sometime this year. If not, just try and stay in self-quarantine and don’t have parties until we have a vaccine for COVID-19. You should follow the five basic steps to avoid it.

One, wear a mask, by wearing a mask it prevents you from inhaling a contaminated person’s bacteria. Two, wear gloves, wearing gloves prevents all of the bacteria that is on the items you are buying. Three, wash your hands, washing your hands after touching something coated in coronavirus bacteria is a required must. It is also something that should be recommended after you wear gloves to buy or move items in your house. Four, wash your objects with watered-down bleach, washing the objects you buy from Walmart or other stores. The objects may have been touched by people who have coronavirus, so it is better safe than sorry. Five, if you are out in public take a shower when you get home and wash your clothes. The last rule may be over the top, but it’s better to be safe than sorry. So, from now on, don’t have parties until a vaccine is made.

Don’t have Parties

According to Mikey Burton from the New York Times, “As the coronavirus continues to spread, epidemiologists like me are starting to field a remarkable question: Would people be better off if they just contracted the virus and got it over with? I’ve heard rumblings about people avoiding physical distancing or hosting a version of ‘chicken pox parties,’ where non-infected people mingle with an infected person in an effort to catch the virus. For some, it is part of a ‘herd immunity strategy’ to build population immunity by infecting younger people who seem to have mild cases of COVID-19. Others are frustrated with staying home. There are also those who hope they could better protect their loved ones, serve their communities or return to work if they could develop immunity.”

Don’t have parties during a time of social distancing. It is a bad idea to compare COVID-19 to chicken pox because they are completely different. One has a vaccination and is tame compared to the coronavirus, which has killed a large number of people on a global scale. It is foolish to even assume that it would be better off to contract it like at a pox party. Don’t have parties like pox parties, it is not a wise idea until the public gets a COVID-19 vaccine.