Swine Flu: Now Or Later?

I wrote yesterday that at least 60 Cornell students have come down with H1N1, and the Review blog announced today that it was spreading through Hans Bethe House on west campus.

As people I know are starting to get sick, I've been thinking more about the "swine flu parties" which got a good deal of attention in the spring. The idea behind the parties is that one sick person (who has suffered only minor symptoms) infects a number of healthy people, each of whom is then sick for a week or so. The newly sick people now have immunity against the swine flu, and may also have immunity against potentially stronger (and deadlier) strains of the flu which experts expect may circulate later this fall and winter.

From my standpoint, getting sick over the next few days wouldn't be such a bad thing. I don't have too much work yet, and I'd recover before my birthday, the LSAT, and hockey season, all of which require me to be in fairly good health.

We'll see what happens. I'll be going to a few social events this weekend, so who knows, I might be spending a lot of next week in bed.