The Gauteng Health Department has condemned an attack on its vaccination team in Soshanguve, north of Pretoria.

Five armed men in a Toyota Quantum at Wonder City Taxi Rank in Soshanguve robbed the team at gunpoint and fled the scene with vaccination programme devices including three tablets and seven cell phones.

Last week, a West Rand Health District Services bakkie was hijacked with mobile site equipment and gazebos in Chamdor, Kagiso.

The department’s spokesperson, Kwara Kekana says, “The cases of robbery for both incidents have been opened at Soshanguve and Kagiso police stations. These senseless acts occurred at a time when the province is ramping up the vaccination programme by activating more vaccination sites in all the districts to vaccinate as many people as possible.”

“Our healthcare workers remain the backbone of the health system, even during the pandemic as they continue to play a pivotal role in terms of vaccination programme rollout. We call on all members of society to work with law enforcement agencies and to share any information they might have on the two incidents.”

Meanwhile, Sunday was the last day for the Vooma Vaccination Weekend. As part of efforts to ramp up vaccinations ahead of the festive season, and in the midst of resuscitating the economy, a wide range of leaders in government, labour business and civil society partners supported the Vooma Vaccination Weekend.

In the video below, the CEO of BUSA and B4SA Chair of Communications, Stakeholder and Advocacy Workstream, Cas Coovadia, speaks about the Vooma Vaccination Weekend: