<p>Health experts warned Wednesday that people should not attempt the latest viral challenge -- walking over a pyramid of precariously balanced milk crates.</p>.<p>TikTok and other social media sites have been flooded in recent days by videos of people in the United States and beyond trying -- and mostly failing -- the climb the crates.</p>.<p>Most videos end with what looks like a painful fall onto the collapsing crates, or the ground, as onlookers film on their phones in what some dubbed an event in the "Hood Olympics."</p>.<p>"You're at risk for... hitting your head and getting a head bleed," said Dr. Chad Cannon, an emergency room doctor at the University of Kansas Health System.</p>.<p>If "you land on the milk crate, you will break your back and be paralysed."</p>.<p>Baltimore City Health pointed out that hospitals are already under strain from the pandemic.</p>.<p>"With Covid-19 hospitalizations rising around the country, please check with your local hospital to see if they have a bed available for you, before attempting the #milkcratechallenge," the official account tweeted.</p>.<p>While the hashtag was readily searchable on Twitter and Instagram on Wednesday, searches on TikTok returned no results.</p>.<p>"This phrase may be associated with behavior or content that violates our guidelines. Promoting a safe and positive experience is TikTok's top priority," the search result page said.</p>.<p>The videos -- and photographs of some appalling injuries -- were reminiscent of an earlier internet sensation that had doctors tearing their hair out.</p>.<p>The 2018 Tide Pod Challenge saw young people biting into a liquid laundry detergent packets.</p>.<p>Some social media users pointed out the likelihood that not all of those appearing in these videos in the United States would get free medical treatment.</p>.<p>"People doing this like they have the best health insurance" tweeted @ogmike.</p>.<p>Others contrasted the willingness of people to attempt something so patently dangerous with the attitude to getting a coronavirus jab that has proven safe and effective.</p>.<p>"You'll do the milk crate challenge but won't get the vaccine. Got it," quipped 'Star Trek' actor George Takei.</p>.<p>Just over half of Americans are fully vaccinated against Covid-19, despite the shots being free and widely available.</p>.<p>Opposition to the jabs is driven by politics, distrust of government and antipathy towards science, and is particularly acute in poorer, more conservative parts of the country.</p>
<p>Health experts warned Wednesday that people should not attempt the latest viral challenge -- walking over a pyramid of precariously balanced milk crates.</p>.<p>TikTok and other social media sites have been flooded in recent days by videos of people in the United States and beyond trying -- and mostly failing -- the climb the crates.</p>.<p>Most videos end with what looks like a painful fall onto the collapsing crates, or the ground, as onlookers film on their phones in what some dubbed an event in the "Hood Olympics."</p>.<p>"You're at risk for... hitting your head and getting a head bleed," said Dr. Chad Cannon, an emergency room doctor at the University of Kansas Health System.</p>.<p>If "you land on the milk crate, you will break your back and be paralysed."</p>.<p>Baltimore City Health pointed out that hospitals are already under strain from the pandemic.</p>.<p>"With Covid-19 hospitalizations rising around the country, please check with your local hospital to see if they have a bed available for you, before attempting the #milkcratechallenge," the official account tweeted.</p>.<p>While the hashtag was readily searchable on Twitter and Instagram on Wednesday, searches on TikTok returned no results.</p>.<p>"This phrase may be associated with behavior or content that violates our guidelines. Promoting a safe and positive experience is TikTok's top priority," the search result page said.</p>.<p>The videos -- and photographs of some appalling injuries -- were reminiscent of an earlier internet sensation that had doctors tearing their hair out.</p>.<p>The 2018 Tide Pod Challenge saw young people biting into a liquid laundry detergent packets.</p>.<p>Some social media users pointed out the likelihood that not all of those appearing in these videos in the United States would get free medical treatment.</p>.<p>"People doing this like they have the best health insurance" tweeted @ogmike.</p>.<p>Others contrasted the willingness of people to attempt something so patently dangerous with the attitude to getting a coronavirus jab that has proven safe and effective.</p>.<p>"You'll do the milk crate challenge but won't get the vaccine. Got it," quipped 'Star Trek' actor George Takei.</p>.<p>Just over half of Americans are fully vaccinated against Covid-19, despite the shots being free and widely available.</p>.<p>Opposition to the jabs is driven by politics, distrust of government and antipathy towards science, and is particularly acute in poorer, more conservative parts of the country.</p>