Criminals target health department vaccination teams

Five men held up a Tshwane vaccination team at gunpoint on Friday, the same day Gauteng emergency service workers held a march to highlight ongoing attacks on paramedics.

The provincial health department said the robbery happened at a pop-up vaccination site next to Rivoningo Primary School in Soshanguve around 1.30pm. The perpetrators fled with two electronic tablets and five cellphones.

In December, a mobile vaccination team was robbed at gunpoint at a pop-up site at Wonder City taxi rank in Soshanguve.

“Members of the community need to rise in defence of the vaccination teams as the situation is getting out of hand,” said the department.

“All these incidents are happening at times when government is trying to increase vaccine access by taking the vaccination programme closer to the people.

“We call on all members of society to work with law enforcement agencies to ensure the perpetrators are brought to book.”

TimesLIVE