The battle Israel is conducting in the Gaza Strip has been briefly halted by the necessity to vaccinate about 640,000 children under the age of ten against polio.
In order to enable health officials to vaccinate youngsters in Gaza against polio, Israel consented to a series of three-day “humanitarian pauses.” This was stated yesterday by the World Health Organization, or WHO.
“The way we discussed and agreed, the campaign will start on the first of September, in central Gaza, for three days. And there will be a humanitarian pause during the vaccination,” said Rik Peeperkorn, the agency’s representative for Palestinian territories.
Both northern and southern Gaza will be included in the immunization campaign. Each will receive a three-day break, Peeperkorn informed the media. He further mentioned that Israel had promised to give one more day if needed.
The goal of the immunization program is to immunize nearly 640,000 youngsters less than ten.
“We stress the critical importance for all parties to adhere to the commitments that have been made,” Michael Ryan, WHO deputy director-general, told the UN Security Council.
“At least 90 percent of coverage is needed during each round of the campaign to stop the outbreak and prevent the international spread of polio,” he added.
He reported that 1.26 million doses of the NoPV2 vaccination had been sent to Gaza and that 400,000 more were on their way.
Oral administration of the vaccination involves two drops. To finish the immunization, medical personnel must come back in four weeks to give each youngster two more drops.
Still, there hasn’t been any public debate about scheduling another ceasefire.
Oren Marmorstein, Israel’s foreign affairs spokesman, said on X that his government “has coordinated a large-scale operation with WHO and UNICEF to vaccinate children in the Gaza Strip against polio.”
Claiming support for the “UN humanitarian truce,” Hamas
Deputy US ambassador to the UN Robert Wood stated that it is “crucial that this campaign be implemented without delay.”
“Ensure periods of calm and refrain from military operations during vaccination campaign periods,” he said of Israel, as well as “facilitate access for agencies carrying out the vaccination campaign.”
The polio outbreak in Gaza has alarmed both the US and the EU. Their worries stemmed from the fact that a 10-month-old baby who had not had any vaccinations this month had the first case in 25 years.
The poliovirus is extremely contagious and primarily spreads by tainted water and sewage.
In Gaza, where Israel has destroyed most of the infrastructure in the region during its war with Hamas, poor hygiene is becoming a more widespread issue.
Children under the age of five are primarily affected by the condition. It is potentially lethal and can result in malformations and paralysis.
