- Medical Facility Initiates: Polio Immunization Drive in Gaza
Within the core of Gaza, a crusade to immunize numerous kids against the polio disease is underway, as per hospital records. A representative from Deir al-Balah hospital spoke to the German Press Agency, mentioning that the initial leg of this operation will occur in various facilities and educational institutions situated in the central area of the seashore region. This includes several refugee camps in the vicinity.
This vaccination drive, anticipated to last around a week and expand to other areas of Gaza, aligns with temporary and limited truces announced by the Israeli military.
As per the World Health Organization (WHO), medical clinics, private practitioners, and mobile vaccination teams aim to inoculate approximately 640,000 children in the Gaza Strip against the highly infectious virus, which can cause polio-related paralysis. Typically, two doses are administered four weeks apart.
The recent first instance of childhood paralysis in the disputed Palestinian territory in 25 years serves as the impetus behind this vaccination campaign, which aims to ward off a significant polio outbreak.
Before the formal launch of the campaign, some children had already been vaccinated during a press conference conducted by the Hamas-controlled health authority in the Gaza Strip on Saturday. The WHO regarded this as an inaugural gathering.
In the past, the Israeli military has often declared prolonged pauses in operations within certain sectors of the Gaza Strip, primarily to facilitate more aid distribution. Initially, it was uncertain if the discovery of the six captives' bodies in the Gaza Strip by the Israeli army would impact the declared truces.
Prior to this, the office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu made it clear that the planned pauses in conflict were not intended as traditional truces. Instead, secure zones for vaccinations and a humanitarian passageway, through which individuals could travel safely to get vaccinated, would be established.
The vaccination drive also extends to various areas in the Gaza Strip, specifically including the Gaza Strip's refugee camps. Due to the polio outbreak threat, the Gaza Strip, particularly the area of the Gaza Strip known as the Gaza Strip, becomes even more crucial in halting the spread of the disease.
