First published in the Daily Maverick 168 weekly newspaper.

Last week, before the Electronic Vaccination Data System (EVDS) opened registrations for 35- to 49-year-olds, a cousin I hadn’t heard from in a while phoned to ask how I was doing. I thought it was sweet of him, but halfway through our conversation, my cynical side kicked in when he told me he’d just had his second Pfizer jab.

The large manufacturing company he works for has a staff clinic and, like many manufacturers in SA, it had negotiated with the government to vaccinate all staff. I think he phoned me to gloat a little, in a very subtle manner of course, about getting his second dose before I was even able to register for my first one. (Sorry, cuz, if you were indeed just phoning to say howzit.)

There are no anti-vaxxers in my family (well, none that I’m aware of), and for us it’s like we’re in The Amazing Vaccine Race (coming soon to a reality TV channel near you). The race kicked off with the elderly members of the family. I’d registered my mother, Surya Singh (73), on the day registrations opened and she received the initial EVDS SMS, but didn’t receive an appointment thereafter.

One of my aunts and my uncle were vaccinated before my mother had even received an appointment SMS, and she wasn’t pleased. Our first fight went something like this:

Mom: Everyone is getting vaccinated before me! (Said in that tone parents use when kids have done something wrong.)

Me: You are registered, I’m sure you’ll get your vaccine soon.

Mom: But I haven’t received my appointment SMS.

Me: It will come through any day now.

Mom: You said you registered me on the first day. If you did, then how’s it possible that my brother, who registered two weeks later, has been vaccinated before me? (There’s a note of agitation in her voice, which obviously makes me agitated too.)

Me: I don’t know, but I’m sure you’ll get an appointment soon.

Mom: Oh really? My brother wants to know how it’s possible that I, who have a journalist for a daughter, hasn’t been vaccinated yet.

Me: For Pete’s sake Ma, just be PATIENT! You will get your bloody appointment!

Mom: There’s no need to shout, Sukasha. And who’s Pete?

Over the following weeks, we had a few more fights as more senior relatives were vaccinated, so I complained to Heather Robertson, our editor, because my mom was hinting that I was purposefully doing nothing to get her vaccinated because I didn’t care if she died. She even grumbled to my older sister about me, which was weird because my mother isn’t prone to melodrama. She’s a smart, progressive, kind, open-minded and allegedly peaceful old lady, but more than a year in lockdown had clearly taken its toll on her.

So when Heather’s father went to a clinic in Pretoria that was taking walk-ins, she told me about it and suggested I take my mother to get vaccinated. I was exceedingly grateful because I live in one of Joburg’s northern suburbs and my editor was okay with me being offline for a few hours on deadline day.

It felt very much like a race, which thankfully ended with my mom getting her first Pfizer jab at a clinic that was roughly 65km away from where we live.

When it was my turn, my mom very nearly pushed me out the door and into the queue. After registering on the EVDS, I tootled off to Milpark Hospital, which was a hive of activity on the icy cold winter’s day that was 19 July.

It took a little more than three hours to go through what was an incredibly organised vaccination site in the parking building, which was teeming with 35- to 49-year-olds. I knew I was taking a chance because all vaccination sites – private and public – choose how many walk-ins to take a day, but I thought it was worth a shot (pun intended).

This was the last queue at Milpark Hospital outside the actual vaccination room. (Photo: Sukasha Singh)

The socialising I did in the queue was more than I’d done in a very long time. Thankfully, I found myself sandwiched (at an appropriate distance) between two tennis fans so we had a fair deal to chat about – how cool Wimbledon looked with vaccinated crowds, how nice it was that NHS staff were given a standing ovation on Centre Court, how boring the men’s game was now that Novak Djokovic was winning everything.

Another thing we chatted about was how confused we all were by anti-vaxxers:

Tennis fan 1: In society, there are rules you follow that benefit everyone. Vaccinating during a pandemic is one of those rules, because it protects the people you come into contact with, not just you.

Tennis fan 2: Exactly, and now these anti-vaxxers have turned their bodies into labs for all kinds of crazy new Covid variants to develop.

Me: It’s very scary. It’s the same as drunk driving – you don’t drive drunk to prevent yourself from getting hurt and to protect those around you. You vaccinate for the same reason – to protect yourself and those around you.

Tennis fan 1: I think they’ve just lost the ability to tell fact from fiction. They believe the nonsense and conspiracy theories they read on the net. It’s sad really.

Tennis fan 2: People in the States have to wear masks again to protect themselves from these anti-vaxxers and they have millions of vaccine doses in the States, but these people don’t want them. It’s crazy what’s happening there.

According to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, during June 2021 all 130 people who died of Covid-19 in Maryland were not vaccinated. Many other states are recording similar stats – people who aren’t vaccinated are the ones dying of Covid-19. While a vaccine isn’t a guarantee that you won’t die if you get Covid-19, the Pfizer vaccine has been found in various studies to be 98% effective in preventing serious illness due to Covid-19.

As for the jab itself, it was relatively painless, though my arm was a bit sore afterwards, and I didn’t experience any flu-like symptoms, or any adverse reactions.

When I left Milpark Hospital at about 3.30pm, I felt all warm and fuzzy inside as I noticed that the queueing areas had already been cleaned and prepared for the next day. Thank you, South Africa. Thank you also to the healthcare workers, scientists and everyone involved in the fight against Covid-19. And a last thanks to those involved in fighting the misinformation, lies and conspiracy theories being spread by the most virulent and deadly strain spreading across the world right now – anti-vaxxers. DM168

Vaccine Facts

Myth: The vaccine hurts fertility. Fact: There is no recorded evidence that people have lost any fertility due to Covid-19 vaccines, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).

Myth: The vaccines contain the virus. Fact: According to the WHO, you can’t get Covid-19 from the vaccine itself because the Pfizer vaccine does not contain parts of the virus.

Myth: Whether I take the vaccine or not is no one’s business. Fact: Refusing the vaccine has an impact on you, your loved ones and the whole country, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Even if those around you are vaccinated, you can still carry and spread the virus while also allowing it to mutate inside you, thereby giving rise to new variants.

Myth: I’m young, I don’t need it. Fact: Young people can get Covid-19 and they can also experience long-term Covid-19 complications, according to the WHO.

Myth: We don’t know what the long-term side effects are. Fact: According to Brown University School of Public Health, any adverse side effects from vaccines almost always show up within the first two weeks and certainly by the first two months. The vaccines have been administered since December 2020. By 20 July 2021, roughly two billion people had received one dose of a Covid-19 vaccine and more than one billion had been fully vaccinated, according to Our World in Data. DM168

This story first appeared in our weekly Daily Maverick 168 newspaper which is available for free to Pick n Pay Smart Shoppers at these Pick n Pay stores until 24 July 2021. From 31 July 2021, DM168 will be available for R25 at Pick n Pay, Exclusive Books and airport bookstores.