The Omicron wave reminded the world once again that we are still far away from the end of the Covid-19 pandemic despite all the vaccination efforts so far. What makes Omicron different from all the previous variants of the Covid-19 virus is the fact that easily evades both vaccine and natural immunities and can infect literally everyone, from children to elderly people regardless of their vaccination status.
Hospitals around the world are under pressure, travel restrictions are being implemented, mass quarantines are a thing again and schools are closing switching to virtual learning due to the highest number of positive cases some areas experience.
In many countries, including the United States, Omicron has become the dominant variant and probably there is nothing that can stop the spread right now. The efficacy of the vaccines dropped when it comes to Omicron protection, but they still work and provide significant protection when it comes to developing severe condition, hospitalization and death.
Despite the fact that hundreds of studies confirmed that vaccines are working against the virus in majority of the cases, some people still remain vaccine hesitant. There is rising, alarming trend this group of people in some cases decide to follow – getting infected with the virus on purpose to eventually develop natural immunity and therefore, be protected of contracting the virus again.
The most recent such case comes from Australia, where local residents are shocked after a video appeared online recently where a young woman, a bride-to-be, recorded herself at a nightclub sharing drinks and hugging strangers in an effort to get infected with Covid-19 on purpose so she can develop natural immunity and be ‘safe’ for her wedding day in six weeks’ time.
The 15-second-long video, entitled “Catch Covid, not feelings” has garnered more than 121,000 views on TikTok, but the user, @maddysmart3, has now made her account private. From what is seen on the video, the young woman shares drinks with total strangers and hugs them at a local nightclub.
The would-be bride shared the post on Sunday, captioning it: “POV your wedding is in 6 weeks and you still haven’t had Covid.” The short clip evoked mixed reactions, with some praising her attempted immunization technique and others criticizing her for flouting rules amid rising Covid-19 cases in Australia.
The video, understandably, made many local residents furious taking into consideration the fact that Australia is among the countries known to handle the pandemic with very strict measures and lockdowns. The video appeared online just a day before the Victoria government announced new pandemic measure on January 12, closing all indoor dance floors except for weddings.
“Sucks to be a healthcare worker watching this,” wrote one TikTok user.
Just like in many other countries recently, Australia is heavily hit by the Omicron variant infecting people at unseen rates so far. According to the data provided by Australian health officials, there have been more than 1.3 million cases since the start of the pandemic, with more than half in the past week, driven by the highly contagious Omicron variant of the coronavirus.
UPDATE: The TikTok account is no longer available.
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