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www.thevillagenews.co.za
FROM THE EDITOR
10 February 2021
Not all doom and gloom
The past few weeks have resulted in a dizzying amount of information regarding the various Covid-19 vaccines and their efficacy, especially against the South African variant of the disease. Much of the news has unfortunately been disheartening, with the South African Government putting a halt to the distribution of the one million doses of AstraZeneca vaccine we received only a week ago. Together with this, leading vaccine scientists are calling for a rethink of the goals of vaccination programmes, saying that the achievement
of herd immunity through vaccination is unlikely because of the emergence of variants like we have in South Africa. This came as the University of Oxford and AstraZeneca acknowledged that their vaccine will not protect people against mild to moderate Covid-19 illness caused by the South African variant. A study involving more than 2 000 people in South Africa followed results from two other vaccines which found that the vaccines offered much reduced
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This might lead the way in future for people to expect regular booster shots of Covid vaccines in the way we do with flu vaccinations, where scientists look at what variant is likely to spread around the world every season, and rapidly
And while we may not have immediate answers as we await word from scientists on the best way to proceed, it must be emphasised that at the moment the true value of the vaccines is in reducing
produce a variant of vaccine that will then begin to protect people against infection. On the positive side, our government has announced it will start offering vaccines developed by Johnson & Johnson and Pfizer in the coming weeks. It is believed that these vaccines offer more promising effectiveness against the South African variant and severe forms of Covid-19. It was even described as a potential “silver bullet”. So, it is not all doom and gloom. This is the good NEWS – Ed
Love me, love my mask ing into a pumpkin or the police arrested you, whichever came first. Sadly, many budding relationships ended due to the curfew and the alcohol ban. We all know that no one is ugly after midnight and six tequilas.
Pre-covid, you could at least spend Valentine's on your own in the dark, right at the back of the movies, feeling sorry for yourself and bawling your eyes out in between your popcorn, choccies and mega-Coke.
By Hélène Truter
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the burden on our health system. This is especially true if one considers that the study confirms that the coronavirus will find ways to continue to spread in vaccinated populations and that even if vaccines do not bring down the numbers of people infected with variant strains, they could save lives.
a Valentine's dinner for one.
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protection against the local variant. Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna have also said the variant affects the efficacy of their vaccines, although based on lab studies only. While this has left many of us in shock, it is important to remember that all the vaccines have been found to protect against the most severe disease, hospitalisation, and death.
T
heir eyes meet across the not-so-crowded supermarket isle. He has soulful misty eyes, Jaci muses. Or maybe it's just because her glasses are steamed up. (I know I should get myself one of those masks with the filter thingy that makes you look like you have a huge growth on your cheek, she tells me. I might as well wear support hose and a sign that says, ‘I've given up on romance, roses and rugged men'.)
Long romantic strolls along the beach were also extremely dangerous. You would be charged by the cavalry on horseback or you would be personally removed by the Minister himself. Does that mean you are really important or that the man with the Hat has nothing better to do?
According to social media, if you were single before LOCKDOWN (yes, it has to be in capitals, it's been that devastating) your chance of hooking up with someone decent is as good as our previous President going to jail.
No man, we lost our Freedom, the December Holiday and our Sense of Humour; we can't lose Valentine's as well. Jaci decided old-fashioned flirting, while keeping your social distance would have to do. After exchanging negative Covid tests, a blind date was set up.
But many persevered, like my friend, Jaci, who tried the virtual dating thing via Zoom. The first date was just as awkward as any other. At first she could only see the top of his head. After a while she realised that she had accidently hit the mute button, which explained the painfully long silences. Once they could actually see and hear each other, he suddenly excused himself.
How do you tell if a man is rugged these days, she wonders. That mask could be hiding a double chin, bad teeth and a crooked nose. Oh my word, he's coming her way. Damn, he can't come closer. He's trapped six footprints away from her.
Wearing her sexiest mask they met in the parking lot, remaining in their cars of course. Oh my word, it's Misty Eyes from the Supermarket! Jaci closed her eyes, imagining their first kiss.
To her shock and horror she discovered that he'd been wearing his underpants throughout. (No, she could not tell whether he was happy to see her, get your mind out of the gutter.) But the cherry on top, excuse the pun, was the entrance of a strange woman who quite rudely told Jaci to stop harassing her boyfriend.
She tries to delay at the exit, hoping he'll catch up, but after being disinfected for the third time the security guard gets suspicious and she has to move off. For the best probably; she could burst into flames should anyone strike a match within the allotted 1 and a half metres. Or is it two metres? She can't keep up anymore. On the way out she notices the queue at the liquor store is out the door. She spent her previous paycheck on illegal booze so she can hardly afford to pay her rent, let alone treat herself to
What a disappointment. Kissing someone while wearing a mask and smelling like Jik just doesn't cut it. She's brought back to reality. He's mumbling something. Sorry, I can't hear you. Brazenly, he pulls down his mask. At least he has all his teeth. He throws her a small wrapped gift. Aaw, he’s a romantic, she thought, hoping it's chocolates. She opened it. What?! A box of Ivermectin. This man is a keeper!
Back to the normal dating thing then. But the goal posts kept on shifting. You could go to a restaurant but you had to leave at 22:00, then 21:00, then 20:00; now we're back to 22:00, I think? Whatever. You had to leave before turn-
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