Unknown suspects attacked a vaccination centre in western Athens on Friday, cutting wiring for the backup generators powering refrigeration units used to store coronavirus vaccines.
The main vaccination centre, located in the municipality of Peristeri, was placed in emergency mode after the attack last week, with concerns that the ongoing wildfires in Greece could lead to potential mains power shortages.
The cables that were cut were those to the backup generator, which keep the refrigerators operating in case of a power outage. A lack of backup electricity could result in the destruction of thousands of vaccines in the event of loss of power, I Kathimerini reports.
According to the Greek newspaper, police are currently investigating whether the attack was carried out by thieves looking to sell the copper contained in the wires or by anti-vaccine activists.
The incident is not the first time a vaccination centre has been subjected to an attack. In July, a vaccine centre in the municipality of Urrugne in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques county in south-western France was allegedly targetted in an apparent arson attack.
Mayor of Urrugne Philippe Aramendi said he believed the fire was intentionally set, saying: “I was called at three in the morning, and it was found that a flammable product had been spilt around the marquee. Fortunately, firefighters quickly contained the flames and the tent was only partially destroyed.”
“It may be too early to know if we are dealing with anti-vaxxers, but if they are, it is saddening,” Mr Aramendi said.
France has seen large protests against the French government’s vaccine passport policy which was rolled out at the start of the month.
Over the weekend, protesters gathered for the fourth week in a row, with an estimated 273,000 people taking part in demonstrations across the country, 17,000 of them in the French capital of Paris.