Polio Vaccination Campaign in Gaza: Progress Amidst Challenges

Polio Vaccination Campaign in Gaza Nears Completion

The first phase of a comprehensive polio vaccination initiative in Gaza is set to conclude on Thursday. Organizers are optimistic about reaching their ambitious target of vaccinating 640,000 children under the age of 10. According to Juliette Touma, a spokeswoman for the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA), the campaign has progressed well despite the challenging conditions of wartime. Notably, aside from a troubling incident on Monday when Israeli troops detained a UN convoy of aid and medical personnel en route to northern Gaza for vaccinations, the overall execution of the campaign has been smooth.

Touma reported that there were no significant issues or “red flags” on Wednesday, allowing the final phase of the vaccination effort to proceed as scheduled on Thursday. By Wednesday, nearly 530,000 children in Gaza had already received the first of two necessary doses of the oral polio vaccine, as communicated by UNRWA via social media updates. For the campaign to be deemed successful, health workers must also be prepared to administer a booster vaccination in the coming weeks.

The newly vaccinated children represent over 80 percent of the target population that health authorities aimed to inoculate, as stated in a recent announcement. Health experts assert that achieving a vaccination rate of 90 percent among children under 10 is crucial to prevent the spread of polio, a highly contagious virus that can lead to paralysis and even death in unvaccinated individuals.

This summer, traces of the poliovirus were detected in wastewater samples from Gaza, raising concerns about the potential spread of the disease. In a significant development, August saw the confirmation of the first polio case in the enclave in 25 years, involving a nearly one-year-old boy. The conditions in Gaza create a perfect environment for polio to flourish, particularly in areas with substandard sanitation and low vaccination rates.

Health officials have indicated that vaccination rates in Gaza, which stood at approximately 99 percent as recently as 2022, have sharply declined among infants due to the ongoing conflict. The war has severely damaged much of Gaza’s infrastructure and waste management systems over the past 11 months, following Israel’s military response to the Hamas-led attacks on October 7. This destruction has compounded the risks for unvaccinated children in the region.