A Palestinian child receives the second dose of the polio vaccine in the city of Khan Younis, southern Gaza Strip (file) – Europa Press/Contact/Hashem Zimmo
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The WHO attributes the decision to the “intense bombings”, the “displacement orders” and the absence of “guaranteed humanitarian pauses”
MADRID, 23 Oct. (EUROPA PRESS) –
The World Health Organization (WHO) announced this Wednesday that the third phase of the polio vaccination campaign in the Gaza Strip has been postponed due to “intense bombing” by Israel and population displacement orders in the Gaza Strip. north of the enclave, in the face of the new military offensive launched nearly three weeks ago in the area.
“Due to increased violence, intense shelling, mass displacement orders and the lack of guaranteed humanitarian pauses in most of northern Gaza, the Polio Technical Committee for Gaza (…) has been forced to postpone the third phase of the polio vaccination campaign, which was to begin today,” the agency said.
Thus, he recalled that this final phase of the campaign had the objective of vaccinating 119,279 children in the north of Gaza, work in which the Palestinian Ministry of Health, the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), the United Nations for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) and the WHO itself.
“Current conditions, including attacks on civilian infrastructure, continue to jeopardize the security and movement of people in northern Gaza, making it impossible for families to safely bring their children to be vaccinated and health workers operate (in the place)”, he explained.
In this sense, he stressed that “all logistics, supplies and trained human resources were prepared to vaccinate children in northern Gaza with a second dose of the new oral vaccine (nVOP2), after a first round in the Strip of Gaza between September 1 and 12, 2024”.
The WHO has noted that the area approved for temporary humanitarian pauses has suffered a “substantial” reduction compared to the first round, being limited only to Gaza City, which means that “many children in northern Gaza would have missed the dose.” of the polio vaccine” if the vaccination campaign continues.
“To interrupt transmission of the polio virus, at least 90 percent of children in all communities and neighborhoods must be vaccinated, a prerequisite for an effective campaign to interrupt the outbreak and prevent its further spread,” he said. the organization argued.
In this way, he reiterated that “humanitarian pauses are essential to the success of the campaign, as they allow partners to deliver vaccination supplies to health centers, families to safely access vaccination centers and mobile teams of health workers to reach children in their communities.
IMPACT ON IMMUNIZATION COVERAGE
“A delay in the administration of the second dose of nVOP2 within six weeks reduces the impact of two widely spaced rounds for a simultaneous reinforcement of immunity and interruption of virus transmission,” he pointed out, so has warned that there is a “serious danger” to immunization efforts if “a significant number of children do not receive the second dose of the vaccine.”
“This could also lead to a greater spread of the polio virus in the Gaza Strip and neighboring countries, with the risk of more children becoming paralyzed,” he stated, before specifying that since October 14 they have been vaccinated. 442,855 children under ten years of age in central and southern areas of the Strip, which represents 94 percent coverage of the initial objective.
In addition, it has indicated that “a total of 357,802 children between two and ten years old received vitamin A supplements as part of efforts to integrate the delivery of the polio vaccine with other essential health services in Gaza”, before reiterating that “It is imperative to stop the polio outbreak as soon as possible” to prevent “more children from being paralyzed” and “polio from spreading even further.”
“It is essential that the vaccination campaign in northern Gaza be facilitated through the application of humanitarian pauses, guaranteeing access to it for all children who meet the necessary requirements wherever they are,” he stressed, which is why has asked all parties to “guarantee the protection of civilians, health workers and civilian infrastructure, such as schools, shelters and hospitals”, for which it has reiterated its request for “an immediate ceasefire.”
In August, the WHO confirmed a case of polio in a ten-month-old baby in the center of the Palestinian enclave in the midst of the Israeli offensive, the first case of this type confirmed in the Gaza Strip for 25 years. Poliovirus was detected in environmental samples in Khan Yunis and Deir el-Balah.
Israel’s offensive against Gaza was launched after the attacks on October 7, 2023, which left some 1,200 dead and nearly 250 kidnapped, according to Israeli authorities. Since then, more than 42,700 Palestinians have died, as the Gazan authorities have indicated, in addition to more than 750 Palestinians killed at the hands of Israeli security forces and in attacks carried out by settlers in the West Bank and East Jerusalem since that date. .
