Ireland's full-back Hugo Keenan (C) is tackled by France's centre Arthur Vincent (L) and France's wing Damian Penaud (R) during the Six Nations international rugby union match between Ireland and France at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin, on February 14, 2021. (Photo by Brian Lawless / POOL / AFP)
Did you watch the Blue Bulls playing Leinster on Saturday? Chances are you were more focused on another match (the Bokke) but if you did, you might have admired the Irish stadium where the Bulls played, called the Aviva, or Lansdowne Road by old Dubliners.
Well, that’s “my” stadium.
On Friday, I sat alone in the Aviva and admired the work the grounds people had done prior to the match: the rugby posts were up, the sprinklers were going, the pitch was a perfect plaid of shadowed green, the big screens were testing footage, and I was high up in the empty stands like the Queen of the World.
It was a privilege few have, but one I’ve enjoyed regularly on my tea breaks since March, because the Aviva is where I volunteer at a mass vaccination centre.
Anyway, the Bulls lost; they lost badly. As with rugby, so with vaccination.
Ireland boasts 90.7% completed vaccination of its over-18s, the highest rate in the European Union. With a total population of five million, 3,415,537 adults were fully vaccinated by Friday evening when I finished my shift, and 92.5% had had their first dose.
It makes me proud: the people of Ireland have stepped up for the greater good. We want our pubs back, our pitches, our parties, our economy; we want to protect other people; we want holidays back; we want tourists back; we want our lives back.
It’s a similar situation across the European Union and its economic affiliates, with 72.6% of the adult population fully vaccinated – 269-million people – and another 6.2% halfway there.
Meanwhile, just 30.55% of South African adults are vaccinated, either partially or fully.
There are vaccinations freely available, there are centres open, billions the world over have been jabbed, and yet, and yet … South Africans prevaricate. They are anti-vaxx; they are “vaccine-hesitant”.
There are no excuses anymore.
I cannot comprehend this navel-gazing about some nebulous threat – what if I get sick one day? – versus taking action against the very real dangers of Covid right now.
Meanwhile, our work at the Aviva is almost done; we have successfully vaccinated the centre into obsolescence. Next weekend we close for good.
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