Israeli military says Gaza polio vaccination completed

7/11/2024 6:10

        The Israeli military said
        on Wednesday aid organizations had completed a second polio
        vaccination round for children in Gaza, administering more than
        1.1 million vaccinations in different areas of the enclave,
        achieving 90% coverage.
        
        Limits on the area covered by a humanitarian pause in the
        fighting to conduct the campaign, meant the campaign in northern
        Gaza was largely restricted to the area around Gaza City, the
        World Health Organization said.
        
        The polio campaign began on Sept. 1 after the World Health
        Organization (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.
        
        Out of a total of 1,107,541 vaccinations for children across
        Gaza there were 211,170 vaccinations in northern Gaza, 379,361
        vaccinations in central Gaza and 517,070 vaccinations in
        southern Gaza, the military said in a statement.
        
        COGAT, the military agency that deals with Palestinian
        civilian affairs, has been working with international agencies
        to coordinate the campaign, which requires two vaccine doses per
        child.
        
        On Tuesday, Rik Peeperkorn, the WHO representative in the
        Palestinian Territories, said the mass evacuations from areas in
        northern Gaza where the Israeli military has been operating for
        more than a month, had made it difficult to estimate the number
        of children who might be missed in the north.
        
        The first round of the polio vaccination campaign, which
        began on Sept. 1, reached its target of 90% of children under 10
        years of age, according to the United Nations.