The WHO had scheduled a series of three-day “humanitarian pauses” in the fighting to distribute the medicines.
Health care personnel have been warning for months about the resurgence of polio due to the severe humanitarian circumstances.
The Gaza Strip’s polio vaccination campaign began on Saturday, nearly a week after the World Health Organisation confirmed the first case in decades.
Officials said the campaign would formally launch on Sunday. It comes after the WHO announced on Thursday a series of three-day “humanitarian pauses,” signed off by Israel, to facilitate vaccinations.
The campaign involves two doses. Traditionally, the vaccine against the highly infectious disease is administered via three doses, with one to two months between the first two doses, and a third dose in about six to 12 months.
First polio case in decades
The highly infectious disease often spreads through sewage and contaminated water, problems that have become increasingly common in the Gaza Strip during nearly 11 months of fighting. Health workers in the Hamas-controlled strip have for months warned of a polio outbreak, amid a disruption to vaccinations during the fighting.
Last week, doctors concluded that an unvaccinated 10-month-old from central Gaza was partially paralyzed after contracting the virus. The case was the first to have been recorded in the enclave in 25 years.
( Source: DW/AFP)
