--- title: "Several People in ICU After Attending “COVID Party”" description: "A number of misguided residents in Edson, Alberta, a small Canadian town, organized a \"COVID party\" intended to infect as many guests as possible." date: "2021-09-23" modified: "2021-09-23" authors: - name: "Victor Tangermann" job_title: "Senior Editor" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/victor" url: "https://futurism.com/neoscope/several-people-in-icu-after-attending-covid-party" categories: - "Developments" - "Health & Medicine" tags: - "coronavirus" - "covid19" --- # Several People in ICU After Attending “COVID Party” ![A number of misguided residents in Edson, Alberta, a small Canadian town, organized a "COVID party" intended to infect as many guests as possible.]() *\Image: Futurism\* A number of misguided residents in Edson, Alberta, a small Canadian town two hours west of the city of Edmonton, organized a "COVID party" intended to infect as many guests as possible with the coronavirus to "build up natural immunity," local news station [*CityNews* reports](). Unsurprisingly, several partygoers ended up in the ICU. After all, COVID-19 isn't the common flu — nor is it chicken pox. Local health experts were incredulous. "It’s just unbelievable," University of Alberta virology expert Lorne Tyrrell told *CityNews*. "And it’s very sad and very irresponsible to think you’d get good immunity from the virus without getting serious disease." It's no wonder locals are getting the wrong idea with misinformation swirling online. The news comes after Albertan country singer Paul Brandt [posted on Twitter]() that "an Alberta doctor told me there is no medical need for me to be vaccinated as a COVID-recovered person," adding that he is "not an anti-vaxxer." Fortunately, after chatting with experts, he decided to reverse his decision. "I’d like to thank all of the health professionals who reached out and confirmed that this conversation about Immunity is one that needed to be had urgently," [he added]() in a follow up tweet a day later. "As I stated in yesterday’s FB post," [he wrote](), "it is good and responsible measure to strongly consider getting vaccinated, both for yourself, and for the rest of the community and country." But whether that same message has managed to reach those currently battling COVID-19 in the ICU after attending the COVID party remains to be seen. The consequences of contracting the disease are extremely serious. On Wednesday, in fact, the [*CBC* reported]() the first COVID-19 death of a person under 20 in Alberta. ## Author I've been at Futurism since 2017, where my role has evolved to encompass design, writing, and increasingly editing. I've always been fascinated by space exploration and advanced transportation, which I've leaned into by interviewing luminaries in those fields while closely following the dimensions of policy and regulation that allow next-generation projects to succeed -- or, sometimes, to fail. I'm also keenly interested in the effects of generative AI on society, policies, and democratic institutions, as well as clean energy, physics and biology, and the vagaries of tech leadership. My work for Futurism has been cited by publications including Ars Technica, Gizmodo, PC Magazine, Jalopnik, Fox News, and the New York Post. I spent my childhood living in locations including Manila, the Philippines, and Geneva, Switzerland, attended McGill University, and now live in Toronto, Canada. Before Futurism I worked at AskMen and a small photography studio. In my free time, I'm an avid gardener, foodie, and craft beer lover, as well as a maker of artisanal hot pepper sauces. I have a magnificent dog named Freida. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()