The polio vaccination campaign began this Saturday in the center of the Gaza Stripafter the war-ravaged territory recorded its first case of the disease in a quarter of a century, a health official told AFP.
Health officials in the Hamas-ruled territory, together with the UN and NGOs, “are beginning the campaign of polio vaccination in the central region,” said Mousa Abed, director of primary care at the Gaza Ministry of Health.
Recently The first case of the disease in 25 years was confirmedwhich affected a ten-month-old child.
Due to the war, which began on October 7 after the Hamas attack on Israelthe UN sent 1.2 million vaccines to be administered orally.
Parents of children who received the first dose of two drops – two doses are needed, one month apart – told AFP they feared epidemics.
Aid Abu Taha, 33, brought his 11-month-old son. “I came because I am very scared for him,” he said.
“This polio vaccination campaign is very important, especially since there are more and more displaced people and There are epidemics that spread among children“, he added.
Bakr Dib, 35, came with his children aged three, five and eight. “I was hesitant at first, I was very afraid that this vaccine was not safe, but when I saw that everyone was going to the vaccination centre, I calmed down and went too,” he said.
On Thursday, the World Health Organization (WHO) announced that Israel had agreed to a series of three-day “humanitarian pauses” in central, southern and northern Gaza to immunize more than 640 thousand children under 10 years oldThe agency had initially said the campaign would start on Sunday.
According to the UN, “coverage of at least 90 percent is needed in all phases of the campaign to stop the epidemic.”
Poliovirus is highly infectious and is most often spread through sewage and contaminated water, an increasingly common problem in Loopwith much of the infrastructure destroyed.
➡️ Join El Sol de México’s WhatsApp channel to not miss the most important information
The disease mainly affects children under five years of age.It can cause deformities and paralysis, and is potentially fatal.