Polio vaccine drive gets underway in Gaza amid fears of outbreak
Campaign led by the World Health Organization aims to inoculate 640,000 children, after first case of the disease in 25 years was reported in the territory
Jeremy Sharon is The Times of Israel’s legal affairs and settlements reporter
A nine-day polio vaccination drive in the Gaza Strip began on Sunday morning, with the aim of inoculating hundreds of thousands for children following the diagnosis last month of the first case of the disease in the territory in 25 years.
The drive is being staggered across three geographic regions of Gaza, beginning in the central Strip from Sunday until September 3, then moving to southern Gaza from September 4 to 6, and finally northern Gaza from September 7 to 9.
The vaccination campaign is being conducted by the World Health Organization (WHO) together with UNICEF, and in coordination with the IDF’s Southern Command and the Defense Ministry’s Coordinator for Government Activities in the Territories agency (COGAT).
WHO stated on Friday that Israel had agreed to humanitarian pauses in the fighting to facilitate the vaccination drive.
“Israel sees the prevention of a polio outbreak in the Gaza Strip as an important mission in the humanitarian effort,” COGAT said.
In July, an unvaccinated 10-month-old from central Gaza contracted polio and suffered partial paralysis, leading to concerns of a wider outbreak.
The current campaign, which involves two doses of the vaccine per recipient, aims to cover over 640,000 children under age 10.
Hospitals in Deir al-Balah and Nuseirat confirmed that the campaign had begun early Sunday, the Association Press reported.
The World Health Organization has said that the presence of a paralysis case indicates there could be hundreds more who have been infected but aren’t showing symptoms.
Children in #Gaza are receiving much-needed #polio vaccines today.
Ultimately, the best vaccine for these children is peace. pic.twitter.com/yD1AIoXvpF
— Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus (@DrTedros) September 1, 2024
A statement by COGAT said that the Israeli agencies “will work to ensure that the population can safely reach the medical centers where the vaccinations will be administered.”
According to COGAT, it and the international agencies involved in the campaign “conducted joint assessments, including the import of vaccines, medical and logistical equipment, refrigeration units for vaccine storage and transportation, the entry of polio-specialized medical teams into the Gaza Strip, [and] marking vaccination areas in the operational systems.”
COGAT said that over one million vaccine doses were brought into Gaza for the campaign over the last month, and that since the war started, enough vaccine had been brought into the Strip for 2.8 million people.
“According to the World Health Organization (WHO), approximately 90% of the population in the Gaza Strip was vaccinated against polio in the first quarter of 2024,” COGAT said.
The organization also said that it maintains regular contact “with all relevant health system authorities and the international community to monitor the medical situation in the Gaza Strip” and noted that it has facilitated the establishment of 14 field hospitals in the territory as well as the import of 25,955 tons of medicine and medical equipment.
