10-month-old baby diagnosed with polio in Gaza. WHO: Agreement reached with Israel on humanitarian pauses for polio vaccination campaign Health
The World Health Organization (WHO) said it had reached an agreement with Israel on a series of humanitarian pauses for the duration of a mass polio vaccination campaign in the Gaza Strip. The campaign will start on Sunday, September 1.
WHO Representative in the West Bank and Gaza, Rick Pieperkorn, said the campaign will be carried out in two stages. Children will receive two doses of the vaccine, four weeks apart.
Speaking at a press briefing at the UN headquarters in New York, Pieperkorn explained that each of the humanitarian pauses will last three days. They will be announced in turn in different parts of the Strip – in the center, in the north and in the south. During the pauses, hostilities will be suspended for eight to nine hours each day.
“Three days may be enough to achieve adequate vaccination rates. Therefore, we will monitor the entire campaign. It was decided that if necessary, the campaign will be extended by one day in each zone, or even more if necessary,” Pieperkorn said.
1.26 million doses of vaccine have already been delivered to the Strip. The goal of the campaign is to vaccinate 640,000 children under the age of 10. Earlier, Gaza registered its first case of polio in 25 years, a 10-month-old child.