The vaccination campaign against the polio virus has begun in the Gaza Strip under high pressure. In the first phase, around 156,000 children under the age of ten are to be vaccinated in the center of the coastal strip by Tuesday afternoon. This was said by a spokeswoman for the World Health Organization (WHO) in Geneva. The children will need a second vaccination dose in four weeks.
If at least 90 percent of children in the area are not reached, the campaign can be extended by one day. This had already been negotiated. Israel had promised spatially and temporally limited ceasefires in order not to endanger vaccination staff and families. The vaccination campaign will then move to the south of the Gaza Strip for three to four days, then to the north. A total of 640,000 children are to be reached.
According to the WHO, 400 vaccination stations are to be set up. In addition, almost 300 mobile teams are on the move, visiting families who cannot come to the vaccination stations. The polio vaccination consists of two drops of vaccine per dose, which are dripped onto the children’s tongue.
The vaccination campaign is intended to prevent the virus from spreading. Polio, also known as infantile paralysis, can cause lifelong paralysis. The first case of polio in 25 years was recently discovered in the Palestinian territory. The virus spreads when conditions are unhygienic.
