Large-scale polio vaccinations begin in war-ravaged Gaza

This is hugely complicated. It's never been tried before. It's going to be monumental in uh what it's going to sort of press the UN and all the workers there who are going to try to put this together to do. This is something that of *** scope and *** scale and *** speed that they've never done before. Now, some of the vaccinations did get underway. Saturday. The Deputy Health Minister in Gaza said that what was really required was *** complete for *** whole week when the campaign begins Sunday though, that's not going to be what they get. The roll out is going to look like this. It will be done in three phases, the center of Gaza first, then the south, then the north, each phase gets three days and on each of those days, there's about 7 to 8 hours of vaccination time, 640,000 Children to get through, which if you do the math works out to be about uh uh 10,000 Children, Children every hour they need to get through. But there are gonna be about three hun 3000 people out doing the vaccinations who use health centers they'll, they'll use health clinics and they'll even have mobile units out in the, in the tent camps in the, uh, in the sand dunes. All those hard to reach places trying to get the vaccines out. But clearly they're up against speed up against time here. But I asked, uh, Sam Rose, one of the UN coordinators of this. Just what is at stake here? You're gonna be tested to the max. I mean, what's at stake? If you don't manage to get to all the Children, you need to get to, I mean, what's at stake is the spread of, of, of polio? And right now, we know of, of one case, one confirmed case. We don't know if there are more, we've not had the ability to, to check, but if the disease spreads, it will be catastrophic. Can it, can it break out of the region? Who knows how far it, it, it can spread? There's *** probability that it could spread beyond the borders of, of Gaza? Indeed. And there's another challenge here with this roll out of the vaccine. There needs to be *** second dose given in four weeks time. And I asked Sam Rose about that. I said, have you got guarantees for *** humanitarian pause? So you can do that second dose. He, he said there isn't. And, and he told me that this is so important, you have to ha you have to give Children two doses of vaccine. Four weeks apart if you don't manage that. He said, if we don't get that second dosage out there, he said the effects of the, of the first round will be null and void. It won't do any good. They have to get that second vaccine in four weeks time. Nick Robertson Jerusalem.

Palestinian health authorities and United Nations agencies on Sunday began a large-scale campaign of vaccinations against polio in the Gaza Strip, hoping to prevent an outbreak in the territory that has been ravaged by the ongoing Israel-Hamas war.Authorities plan to vaccinate children in central Gaza until Wednesday before moving on to the more devastated northern and southern parts of the strip. The campaign began with a small number of vaccinations on Saturday and aims to reach about 640,000 children.The World Health Organization said Thursday that Israel has agreed to limited pauses in the fighting to facilitate the campaign. There were initial reports of Israeli strikes in central Gaza early Sunday, but it was not immediately known if anyone was killed or wounded.Hospitals in Deir al-Balah and Nuseirat confirmed that the campaign had begun early Sunday. Israel said Saturday that the vaccination program would continue through Sept. 9 and last eight hours a day.Gaza recently reported its first polio case in 25 years — a 10-month-old boy, now paralyzed in the leg. The World Health Organization says the presence of a paralysis case indicates there could be hundreds more who have been infected but aren’t showing symptoms.Most people who have polio do not experience symptoms, and those who do usually recover in a week or so. But there is no cure, and when polio causes paralysis, it is usually permanent. If the paralysis affects breathing muscles, the disease can be fatal.The vaccination campaign faces a host of challenges, from ongoing fighting to devastated roads and hospitals shut down by the war. Around 90% of Gaza's population of 2.3 million people have been displaced within the besieged territory, with hundreds of thousands crammed into squalid tent camps.Health officials have expressed alarm about disease outbreaks as uncollected garbage has piled up and the bombing of critical infrastructure has sent putrid water flowing through the streets. Widespread hunger has left people even more vulnerable to illness.“We escaped death with our children, and fled from place to place for the sake of our children, and now we have these diseases," said Wafaa Obaid, who brought her three children to the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in Deir al-Balah to get the vaccinations.Ammar Ammar, a spokesperson for the U.N. children's agency, said it hopes both parties adhere to a temporary truce in designated areas to enable families to reach health facilities.“This is a first step,” he told The Associated Press. “But there is no alternative to a cease-fire because it’s not only polio that threatens children in Gaza, but also other factors, including malnutrition and the inhuman conditions they are living in.”The vaccinations will be administered at roughly 160 sites across the territory, including medical centers and schools. Children under 10 will receive two drops of oral polio vaccine in two rounds, the second to be administered four weeks after the first.Israel allowed around 1.3 million doses to be brought into the territory last month, which are now being held in refrigerated storage in a warehouse in Deir al-Balah. Another shipment of 400,000 doses is set to be delivered to Gaza soon.The polio virus that triggered this latest outbreak is a mutated virus from an oral polio vaccine. The oral polio vaccine contains weakened live virus and in very rare cases, that virus is shed by those who are vaccinated and can evolve into a new form capable of starting new epidemics.The war in Gaza began when Hamas-led militants stormed into Israel on Oct. 7, killing some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and abducting around 250 hostages. Around 100 remain in captivity, about a third of whom are believed to be dead.Israel's retaliatory offensive has killed over 40,000 Palestinians, according to the Gaza Health Ministry, which does not say whether those killed were fighters or civilians. The war has caused vast destruction across the territory, with entire neighborhoods wiped out and critical infrastructure heavily damaged.The United States, Egypt and Qatar have spent months trying to broker a cease-fire and the release of the remaining hostages, but the talks have repeatedly stalled and a number of sticking points remain.

DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip —

Authorities plan to vaccinate children in central Gaza until Wednesday before moving on to the more devastated northern and southern parts of the strip. The campaign began with a small number of vaccinations on Saturday and aims to reach about 640,000 children.

The World Health Organization said Thursday that Israel has agreed to limited pauses in the fighting to facilitate the campaign. There were initial reports of Israeli strikes in central Gaza early Sunday, but it was not immediately known if anyone was killed or wounded.

Hospitals in Deir al-Balah and Nuseirat confirmed that the campaign had begun early Sunday. Israel said Saturday that the vaccination program would continue through Sept. 9 and last eight hours a day.

Gaza recently reported its first polio case in 25 years — a 10-month-old boy, now paralyzed in the leg. The World Health Organization says the presence of a paralysis case indicates there could be hundreds more who have been infected but aren’t showing symptoms.

Most people who have polio do not experience symptoms, and those who do usually recover in a week or so. But there is no cure, and when polio causes paralysis, it is usually permanent. If the paralysis affects breathing muscles, the disease can be fatal.

The vaccination campaign faces a host of challenges, from ongoing fighting to devastated roads and hospitals shut down by the war. Around 90% of Gaza's population of 2.3 million people have been displaced within the besieged territory, with hundreds of thousands crammed into squalid tent camps.

Health officials have expressed alarm about disease outbreaks as uncollected garbage has piled up and the bombing of critical infrastructure has sent putrid water flowing through the streets. Widespread hunger has left people even more vulnerable to illness.

“We escaped death with our children, and fled from place to place for the sake of our children, and now we have these diseases," said Wafaa Obaid, who brought her three children to the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in Deir al-Balah to get the vaccinations.

Ammar Ammar, a spokesperson for the U.N. children's agency, said it hopes both parties adhere to a temporary truce in designated areas to enable families to reach health facilities.

“This is a first step,” he told The Associated Press. “But there is no alternative to a cease-fire because it’s not only polio that threatens children in Gaza, but also other factors, including malnutrition and the inhuman conditions they are living in.”

The vaccinations will be administered at roughly 160 sites across the territory, including medical centers and schools. Children under 10 will receive two drops of oral polio vaccine in two rounds, the second to be administered four weeks after the first.

Israel allowed around 1.3 million doses to be brought into the territory last month, which are now being held in refrigerated storage in a warehouse in Deir al-Balah. Another shipment of 400,000 doses is set to be delivered to Gaza soon.

The polio virus that triggered this latest outbreak is a mutated virus from an oral polio vaccine. The oral polio vaccine contains weakened live virus and in very rare cases, that virus is shed by those who are vaccinated and can evolve into a new form capable of starting new epidemics.

The war in Gaza began when Hamas-led militants stormed into Israel on Oct. 7, killing some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and abducting around 250 hostages. Around 100 remain in captivity, about a third of whom are believed to be dead.

Israel's retaliatory offensive has killed over 40,000 Palestinians, according to the Gaza Health Ministry, which does not say whether those killed were fighters or civilians. The war has caused vast destruction across the territory, with entire neighborhoods wiped out and critical infrastructure heavily damaged.

The United States, Egypt and Qatar have spent months trying to broker a cease-fire and the release of the remaining hostages, but the talks have repeatedly stalled and a number of sticking points remain.

Large-scale polio vaccinations begin in war-ravaged Gaza

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