First phase of polio vaccine campaign begins in central Gaza amid ‘pause’ in Israeli assault
Gaza (Quds News Network)- The first phase of the polio vaccination campaign kicked off on Sunday morning in the central Gaza Strip with the World Health Organization (WHO) releasing a list of clinics, schools and other locations where children under the age of 10 can receive the polio vaccines, beginning from 7:30am local time.
“Even if your children have been vaccinated previously, bring them to the nearest vaccination point to get the emergency dose and protect them from the virus,” the WHO said in a post on X.
“Vaccination is free and safe.”
The three-day vaccination campaign aims to reach some 640,000 Palestinian children and comes after the first polio case in 25 years in Gaza was discovered this month.
Israel has agreed to pause its military offensive in Gaza to allow health workers to administer the vaccines, UN officials have said.
Rik Peeperkorn, WHO representative in the Palestinian territory, said on Thursday that the three pauses will take place from 6am to 3pm (03:00 to 12:00 GMT) and last for three days each in different areas of Gaza, beginning on Sunday. The pauses are unrelated to the continuing ceasefire negotiations.
There are fears that the virus could spread quickly due to poor sanitation conditions and overcrowding in Gaza’s camps, which are now sheltering hundreds of thousands of displaced people.
