Holding tightly onto my ID while waiting in line to get vaccinated, Janet Jackson’s Rhythm Nation plays in my head.
I’ve been counting the days since the Department of Health announced that people aged between 35 - 49 could register for their Covid-19 vaccinations.
And now sitting on a cold bench in a hospital waiting room, my moment is finally here. I imagine someone jumping out from behind with balloons and a cake as soon as I’m jabbed and shouting: “congrats, you’ve been vaccinated!”
Instead, it’s over within seconds. Before I can even take my phone out for a selfie, the nurse looks at me annoyingly, waiting for me to lift my sleeve.
I’ll admit I was disappointed - I wanted to share my selfie with the rest of the 35 - 49 gang on social media with the hashtag #vaccinationsaveslives. Now all I have is a photo of me pointing to a “Covid vaccination recovery” sign.
Our generation, often referred to as Gen X or vintage millennials, has been heeding the call to action to get vaccinated. Never before has such a large group shown their willingness to contribute to the greater good of society.
Many are confused by our eagerness with some often calling us out on social media for “jumping the queue”. No sir, we are not jumping the queue, we have as much right as you do to access a vaccine that we’ve been itching to get ever since the word “J&J” were uttered by President Ramaphosa.
So to clear up any confusion and endless questions, here’s why we’re standing in long queues to get vaxxed.
Mark with an X
The year was 1994. South Africans from all walks of life were allowed to vote in the country’s first democratic elections. Most of us were able to mark our ballot cards with an X, knowing full well the power of our votes. It filled us with pride, knowing we could make a difference. For many, that same pride came creeping in - this time we’re contributing to herd immunity.
Queue? What queue
If there’s any generation that knows how to wait in line, come rain or shine, it’s us. We’ve been practising the art of patiently waiting our turn since the 90s when standing in line to get into a club was a regular occurrence, often making friends with complete strangers while comparing lipstick colours and shoe sizes.
The only difference between then and now, is that we probably won’t dance until the nightclub lights come on - we’ll be in bed by then.
35-49 gang gonna get the vaccine and then shout they're heading back to groove only to be in bed by 10:30pm
— Et tu, Mbopha kaSithayi? (@Khuze_Elikhulu) July 9, 2021
We love ourselves a social gathering
This is our thing. Any excuse to get dressed and go out into the world and then posting our outfits onto social media. The 35 - 49 gang has keeping this energy throughout, often posting pics of their vaccination outfits, inspiring others to do the same.
The 35 to 49 gang queuing to get the vaccine 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣 pic.twitter.com/eL9k2abiei
— Pumi (@Pumlapesh) July 9, 2021
The raver generation
If you don’t have the soundtrack to Trainspotting, you can’t get vaxxed. Twitter has been inundated with these types of memes, often leading to comments from some vintage millennials reminiscing about their raver days.
A lovely and sharp piece about Trainspotting, the empathy with which it views addiction, and the vitriol with which it views capitalism from @nataliakeogan on its 25th anniversary https://t.co/jxVEnBVMp1 pic.twitter.com/TpIEBkGGVz
— Jacob Oller (@JacobOller) July 19, 2021
The 90s was a time of reckless abandon where anything goes and the drug of choice was ecstasy. Not that we condone drug taking, but back then we didn’t care about what harmful chemicals we put in to our bodies. In any case, with all the preservatives contained in processed foods, our chances of growing a third eye are 20%.
So when anti-vaxxers harp on about 5G and and the “poisons” contained in the vaccine, we say bring it on - our bodies have been through the most.
If you’ve ever eaten this, you don’t need to worry about what’s in the vaccine. pic.twitter.com/Y6Ow3XPDuP
— No Context Brits (@NoContextBrits) July 22, 2021
Also, we’re fed up
The pandemic has lasted for a year and a half. Never did we in our worst dreams think up something so dire. We’ve lost close friends, family and acquaintances. Honestly speaking, we’re just fed up and frustrated with the slow rollout of vaccinations. It’s been hard, our grief knows no limits.
Just inject us so we can go back to some sort of normalcy.
Pardon us for being excited about getting #Vaxxed. We've been through the most. We saw friends, colleagues and family dying of this wretched desease. While our gov bungled the rollout & our 'special' breed in gov tried to jump the queue.
— KHULEKANI (@KhulekaniMkize) July 19, 2021