What’s an ‘omicron party’? Hint: Don’t go to one, SC doctors warn

Thinking of throwing an omicron party like those in the 1970s and 1980s for kids whose parents wanted them to go ahead and get chicken pox?

Don’t do it, says Dr. Divya Ahuja, an infectious disease specialist with Prisma Health.

During a news conference Wednesday, Ahuja said he’s heard of people purposely getting together so everyone can get omicron to hasten its run through the community.

That’s a bad idea for a number of reasons. The highly contagious variant of the coronavirus lasts longer, and while much has been made about it being less severe, some people are getting quite sick, Ahuja said.

“This is not something to be complacent about,” he said.

Brannon Traxler, South Carolina’s public health director, said while she hadn’t heard of people gathering for omicron parties, specifically, she strongly discouraged anyone from taking part in one.

Just because certain groups of people may be less at risk of developing severe illness from the virus, there remains some amount of risk for all age groups, she said.

Children, for example, are seeing record rates of hospitalization during the omicron surge, Traxler said.

One needs to look no further than three children too young to be vaccinated who are on ventilators at Prisma Health Children’s Hospital in Columbia.

Dr. Anna-Kathryn Burch, a pediatric infectious disease physician for Prisma in Columbia, said Wednesday that 23 children were currently hospitalized with COVID in Columbia. One had been vaccinated previously.

Dr. Robin Lacroix, medical director at Prisma Health Children’s Hospital in Greenville, said 17 children are hospitalized at Prisma in Greenville and some are critically ill after being there 20 days.

None were vaccinated, she said.

Another reason to stay away from the so-called omicron parties is treatment options are limited, both in hospitals and out, Ahuja said. Commonly used drugs such as monoclonal antibodies are being reserved for the sickest patients.

DHEC’s Traxler and all the doctors at the press conference continued to stress the importance of getting vaccinated.

They said it is the one true way of avoiding serious complications from the virus.

“Hang in there,” Ahuja said.

He said he suspects a infections to plateau in a week, and then decrease.

Reporter Zak Koeske contributed to this story.

This story was originally published January 19, 2022 at 2:12 PM.