Delayed Gaza polio vaccinations

2/11/2024 5:49

        The third phase of a delayed polio
        vaccination campaign in Gaza will begin on Saturday, aid
        organisations said on Friday, after the rollout was derailed by
        Israeli bombardments, mass displacement and lack of access.
        
        The polio campaign began on Sept. 1 after the World Health
        Organisation (WHO) confirmed in August that a baby was partially
        paralysed by the type 2 polio virus, the first such case in the
        territory in 25 years.
        
        The humanitarian pause to conduct the campaign had been
        agreed but WHO and the U.N. children's agency UNICEF said the
        area covered by the agreement had been substantially reduced
        from the previous pause in September, and would now cover only
        Gaza City.
        
        The final phase of the campaign had aimed to reach an
        estimated 119,000 children under 10 years old in northern Gaza
        with a second dose of novel oral polio vaccine type 2 (nOPV2).
        However, achieving this target is now unlikely due to access
        constraints, the statement said.
        
        COGAT, the Israeli army's Palestinian civilian affairs
        agency, said it was helping to coordinate the three-day campaign
        and once it was complete, there would be an assessment to decide
        whether the schedule would be extended.
        
        "This coordination will ensure that the population can
        safely reach medical centers where the vaccines will be
        administered," it said in a statement.