As a teenager, Greg, who goes by his first name for privacy, was diagnosed with an autoimmune condition and, when it relapsed, his parents insisted he live with him.
“My family is very supportive. They are basically full-time caretakers. [It’s] it’s not the way I want to live my life, especially in my 30s, but the reality of chronic illness,” she said.
Recently, Greg, who is unable to work and lives with pain and extreme fatigue from his condition, learned about the website COVID Meetups. This is a free service for anyone around the world who wants to socialize in a COVID-safe way. To date, there are nearly 7,000 members in 63 countries, although the majority (68%) of users live in the US.
For people like Greg, this site is a lifeline.
This environment allows for safe socialization, which is especially important for immunocompromised people because they are more likely to get very sick if they are infected with COVID. Vaccines are also not guaranteed to create enough — or any — antibodies against COVID, as they do in healthy people.
Adding to this unfortunate reality is the fact that as the virus mutates, the protection of the immunocompromised from COVID is reduced.
For example, the FDA has revoked the use of monoclonal antibody treatments for COVID, which help high-risk people fight the virus and avoid death. Evusheld (which can help prevent COVID in immunocompromised people) was also removed by the new variant.
As government orders to protect against the virus have largely disappeared, many immunocompromised people must choose between risking their health in the outside world or remaining isolated.
“For immunocompromised people, COVID can be a death sentence or [result in] stay in the hospital for days, weeks, or months,” Greg said.
When members can meet in person, Greg has only done that once. He met with people from the site in the park. Since they were outdoors and far enough away, they both felt safe not wearing masks.
However, because of the danger of COVID to him, Greg usually plays Cards Against Humanity with other members, exchanges messages, and attends group meetings that give him the opportunity to talk about how the pandemic is affecting his life.
While many people in the group are immunocompromised, not all are. This is one of the hallmarks of the COVID Meetups – bringing together people who are united with the goal of not getting infected or re-infected with COVID.
A middle ground
The founders of COVID Meetups Debashish and Emily Shaw, two software developers based in Switzerland, wanted to give young children the opportunity to socialize with COVID precautions. Emily, who built most of the site, says it offers a middle ground between isolation and risk-taking.
Since the COVID Meetups launched in late December 2021, they have attracted parents like the Shaws, along with long-term carriers of COVID, the immunocompromised, and those who continue to be cautious of COVID.
“We get messages all the time from people saying ‘this is it [the site] that’s great,’” said Debashish.
Eric Feigl-Ding, the epidemiologist who warned the world in January 2020 about COVID and co-founder of the World Health Network (which owns and operates Covid Meetups), said the site will exist “as long as COVID is clear. and now there is a danger.”
Hope and connection
Like Greg, Susanna Speier has found a sense of community with the COVID Meetups. He is immunocompromised due to the medication he takes to treat Crohn’s disease.
Since joining, Speier has been regularly emailing and texting new friends from the site (who are not immunocompromised) whom she has met directly outside. They also inform each other about local events with COVID precautions.
“This connection is really a gift from the platform because having safe practices for the same COVID does not necessarily translate into friendship and in this case,” he said.
Recently, another member reached out to Speier because he started a group on COVID Meetups for people in Colorado, where he lives. Speier is excited about this new connection as they work together on work projects. But more than the professional opportunity, it’s the fact that they don’t have to put their energy into convincing them – or the group – to take precautions against COVID.
The Colorado group now has 40 members and they’ve been following up with messages for people to follow on social media to stay abreast of COVID developments, share resources on COVID-safe places in Colorado, and have several online meetings. While COVID Meetups isn’t a perfect site (some members have complained about limitations in chat functionality and not being able to host video meetings), it gives hope and connects with Greg and Speier.
“You can have a fun and inspiring life with people who are safe from COVID,” Speier said.
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