Israel Hospital: Polio vaccination campaign begins in Gaza
A campaign to vaccinate hundreds of thousands of children against the polio virus has begun in the center of the Gaza Strip, according to hospital officials. A hospital spokesman in Deir al-Balah told the German Press Agency that vaccinations would initially be given in several centers and schools in the central section of the coastal strip. This also applies to several refugee districts in the area.
01.09.2024, 08:50
SDA
During the vaccination campaign, which will last a good week in total and is to be extended to other parts of the Gaza Strip, the Israeli army wanted to observe temporary and localized breaks in the fighting.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), clinics, doctors' surgeries and mobile teams are to vaccinate around 640,000 children in the Gaza Strip against the highly contagious virus, which can lead to the paralysis typical of polio. Two doses of the vaccine are usually administered four weeks apart.
Following the first case of polio in 25 years in the embattled Palestinian territory, the vaccination campaign aims to prevent a massive outbreak of the disease.
At a press conference held by the Hamas-controlled health authority in the Gaza Strip on Saturday, some children were given their first vaccination before the official start of the campaign. The WHO spoke of an opening ceremony.
In the past, the Israeli military has repeatedly announced pauses of several hours in its activities in areas of the Gaza Strip, mostly to allow more aid deliveries there. It was initially unclear whether the discovery of the bodies of six hostages in the Gaza Strip by the Israeli army would have any impact on the announcements of pauses in fighting.
According to his office, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had previously emphasized that the planned breaks in fighting were not intended to be a ceasefire in the traditional sense. Only safe areas for vaccinations and a humanitarian corridor would be established, which people could pass through on their way to vaccinations without danger.
