Live Update 
From the Liveblog of
Sunday, July 21, 2024
From the Liveblog of
Sunday, July 21, 2024
After polio found in Gaza sewage, IDF says will boost soldiers, work to bring more vaccines into Strip
Reporter at The Times of Israel
Palestinian children walk near stagnant wastewater on their way to a food distribution point in Deir el-Balah in the central Gaza Strip on July 19, 2024 (Bashar TALEB / AFP)
A campaign to give polio vaccinations to soldiers in the Gaza Strip has begun, the IDF announces.
The move comes after the Health Ministry reported that poliovirus type 2 was found in sewage samples in the Gaza Strip last week.
Polio is primarily spread through fecal-oral contamination, sometimes by drinking contaminated water, poor sanitation and poor control of sewage.
The wide-scale vaccination campaign is for all forces in regular service and reserves, and is not compulsory.
Alongside the vaccination campaign for soldiers, the IDF is working with international organizations to bring more vaccines into the Strip for Gazans.
