Polio vaccine campaign in Gaza will begin Sunday, WHO says
A two-round polio vaccination campaign will begin in Gaza on Sunday, the World Health Organization's top representative for Palestinian territories, Rik Peeperkorn, told reporters at the United Nations Thursday.
The first part of the polio vaccination campaign will occur in three, three-day phases: a three-day phase for Central Gaza, a three-day phase for South Gaza and a three-day phase for North Gaza, Peeperkorn said.
There will be two rounds of vaccinations in the "split of four weeks," Peeperkorn said.
"The three days might not be enough to achieve adequate vaccination, so we will monitor throughout the campaign. It has been agreed, when needed, the campaign will be extended by one day by zone or even more if necessary," Peeperkorn said.
At least 1.26 million doses of vaccines have been delivered to Gaza already and 400,000 additional doses will arrive in Gaza soon, Peeperkorn said. The goal is to achieve 90% vaccination coverage during each round, Peeperkorn said.
The vaccines will be provided to more than 640,000 children under age 10, Peeperkorn said.
An Israeli official confirmed Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu agreed to limited pauses in fighting to allow for the vaccination campaign.
"I'm not going to say this is the ideal way forward, but this is a workable way forward. Not doing anything would be really bad, we have to stop this transmission in Gaza," Peeperkorn said.
