Over 1 million Gazans vaccinated in fresh polio campaign, IDF says
Effort to distribute vaccines across Strip wraps up after second drive in three months, prompted by unvaccinated 10-month-old who was partially paralyzed by disease in August
Jeremy Sharon is The Times of Israel’s legal affairs and settlements reporter
A polio vaccination campaign in Gaza conducted in recent weeks has been completed, with some 1.1 million vaccines administered and a vaccination rate among children of over 90 percent, the Israel Defense Forces said Wednesday.
According to the Coordinator of Government Affairs in the Territories, a Defense Ministry agency that coordinates the provision of humanitarian aid into Gaza, 211,170 children were vaccinated in northern Gaza; 379,361 children were vaccinated in central Gaza; and 517,070 were vaccinated in southern Gaza.
COGAT said it facilitated tactical humanitarian pauses in the fighting in Gaza in order to allow the distribution of the vaccines, carried out in cooperation with the World Health Organization and UNICEF.
WHO said the campaign in northern Gaza was largely restricted to the area around Gaza City due to limits on the campaign.
The drive coincided with a renewed IDF offensive in parts of northern Gaza aimed at keeping Hamas fighters from regrouping, which brought fresh rounds of death and destruction to parts of the beleaguered enclave.
The vaccination drive was the second in three months after an initial campaign was undertaken and completed in September.
The first drive was launched after an unvaccinated 10-month-old baby from central Gaza contracted polio and suffered partial paralysis in August, the first case of the disease in the enclave in 25 years.
To ensure the success of the campaign, COGAT said it and the aid organizations involved facilitated the entry of polio specialists to Gaza, as well as the delivery of medical and logistical equipment, refrigeration equipment to store and transport the vaccines, and essential vitamins.
“The State of Israel, through COGAT, will continue to act in accordance with international law, addressing the medical situation of civilians in Gaza,” the Defense Ministry body said.
