The third phase of polio vaccination in Gaza, that had to begin this Wednesday in the north of the Striphas had to be postponed due to the escalation of hostilities and Israel’s failure to comply with humanitarian pausesreported the World Health Organization (WHO).
“The current conditions, with attacks on civil infrastructure, continue to put the safety of the population at risk and the movements in northern Gaza, which makes it impossible for families to take their children to be vaccinated,” the organization highlighted in a statement.
The UN health agency warned that the interruption of vaccinations “can put Efforts to contain the spread of the polio virus in the Gaza Strip are seriously at risk and neighboring countries, threatening to paralyze more children.
This third and final phase of the vaccination campaign aims administer a second dose to 119,279 children in northern Gazaafter receiving the previous one in the first half of September.
“However, many children could miss the second one because The area established for temporary humanitarian pauses has been significantly reduced until covering only the capital of Gaza, much less than during the first dose,” the WHO explained to explain the reasons for the interruption of the campaign.
According to the agency, at least 90% of the children in a community must be vaccinated to guarantee the effectiveness of the campaign, a requirement that cannot be met under current conditions.
He also warns thatdelay the administration of the second dose for more than six weeks of the vaccine will reduce the effectiveness of immunization.
In central and southern Gaza, the WHO in collaboration with other UN humanitarian agencies and the Palestinian Ministry of Health has managed to vaccinate 442,855 children94% of the total.
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