Jab debate with anti-vaxxers too exhausting

I can’t stand self-appointed instant experts and home researchers who bend facts to suit their own convictions.

No matter on which side of the fence they sit.

I particularly hate those who think insults and angry arguments with everyone who doesn’t share their opinion will convince the world.

Which is exactly why I found my discussion with my friend Cedric on Wednesday evening so refreshing.

Cedric is my lockdown friend. I met him when the hard lockdown started last year, which means the pandemic and everything surrounding it has played an important role in our discussions.

“Is everyone in your family still okay?” I asked him.

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“Yes,” he said. “My wife has just had the jab.”

“And you?” I asked.

“No,” he said. “I’m not going to get it. There are just too many stories going around about it. Some people say it’s only rumours, but I’m hesitant.”

He suddenly looked proud. “My wife has had no side-effects. A bit of a sore arm the next day, but nothing more.”

Despite Cedric’s uncertainty about the jab, it was clear that he supports his wife in her decision to be vaccinated.

What a man! It is so sad that so many other South Africans can’t treat the debate which, as far as I’m concerned shouldn’t be a debate at all with as much maturity as Cedric demonstrates.

“She had to have the vaccine due to her health,” he told me. “But I only have one comorbidity: I’m old.”

Then he displayed his trademark naughty smile: “Old guys are tough. If I get that virus, I’ll just take a Grandpa and a stywe dop and I’ll be right as rain!”

Back home, I told my wife, the lovely Snapdragon, how touching I found Cedric’s support for his wife despite his own reservations about the safety of the jab.

“Yes, it’s beautiful,” she said.

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“But I must admit, if you were an anti-vaxxer, I probably would have strangled you in your sleep.”

“I know what you’re talking about,” I answered. “I’m married to a raving mad vaccine evangelist and it’s exhausting.”

I stared sheepishly at the little hand that slipped into my big paw.

“You’re such an idiot,” she said.

I didn’t argue. Life is perfect. Even without a Grandpa and a stywe dop.