{"id":394660,"date":"2022-01-15T15:55:01","date_gmt":"2022-01-15T12:55:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/should-i-have-caught-omicron-and-got-it-over-with-nyc-mom\/"},"modified":"2022-01-15T15:55:01","modified_gmt":"2022-01-15T12:55:01","slug":"should-i-have-caught-omicron-and-got-it-over-with-nyc-mom","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/should-i-have-caught-omicron-and-got-it-over-with-nyc-mom\/","title":{"rendered":"#Should I have caught Omicron and got it over with?: NYC mom"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>&#8220;<strong>#Should I have caught Omicron and got it over with?: NYC mom<\/strong>&#8221;<\/p>\n<div>\n<aside class=\"single__inline-module alignleft\">\n<\/aside>\n<p>On New Year\u2019s Eve, my husband tested positive for COVID. We wouldn\u2019t have known he had it, except our hosts asked us to test before coming to visit. We canceled\u00a0our weekend plans, but then had another dilemma: Should my 6-year-old daughter and I \u2014 who both tested negative \u2014 stay home with my husband and maybe get COVID, or move to a friend\u2019s empty place for five days?\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Now, we are all vaccinated \u2014 my husband and I boosted \u2014 but my first-grader\u2019s school requires that, in cases of in-home exposure, couples who live together quarantine apart for five days or together for 10. For me, that meant five days of solo parenting vs. 10 days with my asymptomatic husband. <\/p>\n<p>While most people don\u2019t have an option of separating from family, the question many are asking is: Should I just get Omicron over with already?<\/p>\n<p>Although there were more than 1 million COVID infections recorded on Jan. 3 \u2014 95%, <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/covid.cdc.gov\/covid-data-tracker\/#variant-proportions\">according to the CDC<\/a>, with the Omicron variant \u2014 deaths, ICU rates and hospitalizations are down, especially among the vaccinated and boosted. A <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/papers.ssrn.com\/sol3\/papers.cfm?abstract_id=3996320\">study<\/a> from <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/papers.ssrn.com\/sol3\/papers.cfm?abstract_id=3996320https:\/\/papers.ssrn.com\/sol3\/papers.cfm?abstract_id=3996320\">South Africa<\/a> found that patients admitted to the hospital during Omicron were 73% less likely to have severe symptoms than patients admitted during the Delta variant. <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.timesofisrael.com\/omicron-will-give-israel-herd-immunity-without-swamping-icus-says-former-covid-czar\/\">Israel<\/a> \u2014 where we are citizens \u2014 is barely fighting Omicron, offering PCR tests only to the elderly and immunocompromised, as many officials believe the spread will eventually lead to herd immunity.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"1024\" height=\"682\" src=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/01\/klein-family2.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=1024\" alt=\"Even after being vaccinated and boosted, Amy Klein\u2019s husband (above) still tested positive for COVID.\" class=\"wp-image-20828304\" srcset=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/01\/klein-family2.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=1535 1536w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/01\/klein-family2.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all 1024w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/01\/klein-family2.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=512 512w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\"\/><figcaption>Even after being vaccinated and boosted, Amy Klein\u2019s husband (above) still tested positive for COVID.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>And yet, with more than <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/health\/2021\/12\/24\/omicron-children-hospitalizations-us\/\">4,000 children hospitalized<\/a> with COVID in the US the first week of January, and <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nbcnewyork.com\/news\/coronavirus\/ny-covid-hospitalizations-top-11k-as-state-reports-highest-single-day-death-toll-since-mass-vaccination-rollout\/3482719\/\">11,000 people hospitalized last week in New York state<\/a> \u2014 the highest total since the peak of the pandemic in the spring of 2020 \u2013 experts are worried about long-term COVID, even from mild illnesses.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cEven mild cases can lead to long-term symptoms,\u201d says Dr. Morgan McSweeney, a Ph.D. scientist trained in immunology and pharmaceutical <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/sciencee\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"5\" title=\"Science\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">science<\/a>s who works in biotech, and has 1.3 million followers on TikTok <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.tiktok.com\/discover\/drnoc\">@DrNoc<\/a>. \u201cI would not intentionally try to get it,\u201d he said, while noting there are people who have been attending \u201cCOVID parties\u201d to get Omicron. <\/p>\n<p>There\u2019s the bride in Australia who tried to get COVID before her wedding, the Canadians who <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.forbes.com\/sites\/victoriaforster\/2021\/09\/23\/people-end-up-in-icu-after-attending-covid-party\/?sh=302ee27e76af\">ended up in the hospital<\/a> after attending a COVID party, and a <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2020\/07\/12\/us\/30-year-old-covid-party-death.html\">30-year-old Texan<\/a> who died after going to one.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou might not know how it will turn out for you,\u201d Dr. McSweeney said. <\/p>\n<p>Aside from the personal risk, there\u2019s a public health burden. <\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"682\" height=\"1024\" src=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/01\/australian-wedding.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=682\" alt=\"A bride in Australia said she tried to catch COVID before her wedding so it wouldn't ruin her big day.\" class=\"wp-image-20828294\" srcset=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/01\/australian-wedding.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=1023 1023w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/01\/australian-wedding.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=682 682w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/01\/australian-wedding.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=341 341w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/01\/australian-wedding.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all 1024w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 682px) 100vw, 682px\"\/><figcaption>A bride in Australia said she tried to catch COVID before her wedding so it wouldn\u2019t ruin her big day.<\/figcaption><figcaption><span class=\"credit\">TikTok\/@maddysmart31<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>\u201cSocietally, it\u2019s placing a pretty severe strain on healthcare staffing right now and has a negative impact on access to health care for everyone else,\u201d he added. As for me, he said, \u201cI think it\u2019s worth it to take reasonable precautions and <em>not<\/em> throw it up to fate, saying, <em>everyone\u2019s going to get it anyway, might as well get it now.\u201d<\/em>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>But many people I know are doing the exact opposite. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cAs soon as I found out we had it, I licked all my kids,\u201d a vaccinated friend joked about her kids, who all weathered a week of fevers and fatigue and now find themselves on\u00a0the mend. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cIf this had been original COVID, we would have gone and isolated somewhere else,\u201d another friend told me. Her 3-year-old tested positive on New Year\u2019s Day. But \u201cbecause of all the data on Omicron,\u201d she decided to stay home with her fully vaccinated husband and two children, the other aged 6.<\/p>\n<p>Within the next four days, the entire family had it, the parents with mild headaches and fatigue, the kids totally fine (the youngest\u2019s fever went away that first day).\u00a0<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"1024\" height=\"682\" src=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/01\/canada-hospital.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=1024\" alt=\"In Canada, two people reportedly attended a COVID party and ended up in the hospital.\" class=\"wp-image-20828261\" srcset=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/01\/canada-hospital.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=1535 1536w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/01\/canada-hospital.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all 1024w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/01\/canada-hospital.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=512 512w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\"\/><figcaption>In Canada, two people reportedly attended a COVID party and ended up in the hospital.<\/figcaption><figcaption><span class=\"credit\">REUTERS<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Now, with the kids back in school and the parents back at work, she told me, \u201cI feel relieved.\u201d <\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s not like I <em>deliberately<\/em> wanted to get infected \u2014 or get our daughter infected. But we had already been with my husband while he was sick.<\/p>\n<p>I called our pediatrician, who, turns out, had just recovered from COVID, and said truthfully, it was a matter of my mental health. After more than a week of parenting over the winter break, I really, really needed some respite. Maybe 10 days at home with<em> <\/em>my infected husband was better than six days alone without him. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cLook, I\u2019m not going to tell you to stay if you have someplace else to go,\u201d my pediatrician told me. \u201cThat being said, if it\u2019s a matter of mental health, since you\u2019re all vaccinated, she will probably be fine if you have to stay.\u201d   <\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"682\" height=\"1024\" src=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/01\/zoom-school.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=682\" alt=\"Quarantining at a friend's place, Klein's daughter went to school over Zoom.\" class=\"wp-image-20828244\" srcset=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/01\/zoom-school.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=1023 1023w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/01\/zoom-school.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=682 682w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/01\/zoom-school.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=341 341w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/01\/zoom-school.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all 1024w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 682px) 100vw, 682px\"\/><figcaption>Quarantining at a friend\u2019s place, Klein\u2019s daughter went to school over Zoom.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>I was still unsure. But going by anecdotal cases, I noted that of the four people who caught it with my best friend in Los Angeles recently, one was perfectly fine, another lost his sense of smell and taste, a third was high-risk, and another developed brain fog and couldn\u2019t finish a sentence.\u00a0How would my daughter and I fare?\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>And so, I decamped to a friend\u2019s place for almost a week and did Zoom school. It gave me PTSD like it was March 2020, and I had to do a lot of deep yogic breathing to try not to lose it.  <\/p>\n<p>Now we\u2019re back home, and we do not have Omicron. Not yet, anyway. But if I\u2019m faced with this same dilemma in the future,\u00a0I don\u2019t know what I would do.<\/p>\n<p><em>Amy Klein is a\u00a0writer\u00a0living in NYC. Follow her on <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/social-mediaa\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"1\" title=\"Social Media\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Twitter<\/a>\u00a0<a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/AmydKlein\">@AmydKlein<\/a>\u00a0and on\u00a0<a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/thetryinggame_infertilitybook\/\">Instagram<\/a>.<\/em>\n                        <\/div>\n<p><script async src=\"\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><script async defer src=\"https:\/\/platform.instagram.com\/en_US\/embeds.js\"><\/script><\/p>\n<blockquote><p><strong><span style=\"color: #ff6600;\">If you liked the article, do not forget to share it with your friends. Follow us on\u00a0<span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><a style=\"color: #ff0000;\" href=\"https:\/\/news.google.com\/publications\/CAAqBwgKMLG0nwswvr63Aw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">Google News<\/a><\/span>\u00a0too, click on the star and choose us from your favorites.<\/span><\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">For forums sites go to <span style=\"color: #ff9900;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/forum.buradabiliyorum.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Forum.BuradaBiliyorum.Com<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>If you want to read more <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/news\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"2\" title=\"News\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">News<\/a> articles, you can visit our <span style=\"color: #ff9900;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/news\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">News category.<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><span style=\"color: black;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/2022\/01\/15\/should-i-have-caught-omicron-and-got-it-over-with-nyc-mom\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Source<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&#8220;#Should I have caught Omicron and got it over with?: NYC mom&#8221; On New Year\u2019s Eve, my husband tested positive for COVID. We wouldn\u2019t have known he had it, except our hosts asked us to test before coming to visit. We canceled\u00a0our weekend plans, but then had another dilemma: Should my 6-year-old daughter and I&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":394661,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/01\/amy-klein-family-1.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&w=1024","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[70897],"tags":[124060,1545,120464,70560],"class_list":["post-394660","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-1-15-22","tag-coronavirus","tag-omicron-variant","tag-parenting"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/394660","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=394660"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/394660\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/394661"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=394660"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=394660"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=394660"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}