WHO sends 1.2 million polio vaccines to Gaza

Following the first instance of the pediatric disease in the war-torn coastal strip in 25 years, the World Health Organization said it had sent 1.2 million doses of the polio vaccine to Gaza, with an additional 400,000 to be delivered amid 3 day humanitarian pauses.

The vaccination initiative by WHO

In addition to the vaccines, which are scheduled to start this weekend, there will be three-day breaks in combat in a few different parts of the country so that over 640,000 youngsters may receive their shots. Nonetheless, following two events this week, one of which was fatal, in which Israeli forces opened fire on aid vehicles, raising concerns about how securely the vaccinations could be administered, UN representatives issued a warning, demanding that Hamas and the Israeli military “must respect” the humanitarian pauses arranged to allow the shots.

A WHO official highlighted the enormity of the task by stating that while the plan was “not ideal,” it would be workable “if all the pieces of the puzzle” were in place. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the director general of the WHO, announced that immunizations will begin on Sunday and that daily breaks would occur between the hours of 6am and 3pm. According to UN representatives, the immunization program would be implemented in three-day segments throughout several Gaza Strip zones.

Reason behind the emergency initiative

The WHO reported earlier this month that the type 2 polio virus had paralyzed an infant, which prompted UN agencies to call for an immediate vaccination campaign. This led to the organization of the campaign. More than two thousand health and community professionals will be involved in several hundred locations.

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“We will be administering the polio vaccine orally starting on Sunday. Four weeks following this first round of campaigns, we will need to re-administer the vaccination. This is for 640,000 youngsters throughout the Gaza Strip”, a UN representative named Louise Wateridge told the BBC.“It’s so important that we get this vaccination campaign out as soon as possible, and that we have the safety to do this, because the repercussions will be disastrous for not just children in the Gaza Strip but children in the region. And they have already been put through so much.”