Middle East
161,000 children in the Gaza Strip have already been vaccinated against polio
For many families, it is dangerous to go to the vaccination centers because of ongoing fighting Photo
© Abed Rahim Khatib/dpa
The vaccination campaign in the Gaza Strip is making good progress. The challenge is to really reach all children. To prevent the spread, coverage of at least 90 percent is necessary.
In the first two days of the polio vaccination campaign in the Gaza Strip, more than 161,000 Children under the age of ten have been vaccinated. This exceeds the total number that the authorities wanted to reach in the central zone of the area, reports the World Health Organization (WHO). They had expected 156,000.
The fact that there are more children there than expected is due to the constant displacement. Tens of thousands of people have to leave their places of refuge again and again when Israel targets the terrorist organization Hamas and calls on residents to seek safety. This is why it is difficult to be sure that all children have really been reached. The original three-day campaign, which began on Sunday, will therefore most likely be extended by one day, according to the WHO.
The vaccination teams will then go to the south of the Gaza Strip. 340,000 children are to be vaccinated there. In the north, another 150,000 children will be vaccinated. In four weeks, all those vaccinated will need a second dose.
Due to the unhygienic conditions with hundreds of thousands of displaced people in a confined space, the first case of polio in 25 years was recently discovered in the Gaza Strip. An eleven-month-old baby is affected. The virus is a vaccine-derived poliovirus (cVDPV type 2). This is precisely what is now being vaccinated against. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), more than 90 percent of children must be vaccinated to prevent the virus from spreading.