Gaza parents hurried to clinics and medical centers on Sunday to get their children vaccinated against polio, which has re-emerged in Gaza, reported AFP.
Polio basically affects children under the age of five. The disease is potentially fatal and can cause deformities and paralysis.
The spokeswoman for the United Nations agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA), Louise Wateridge, stated that approximately 2,000 children took the vaccine on Sunday at one clinic alone in Deir El-Balah.
Before Sunday’s large-scale campaign, an undefined number of children in the southern city of Khan Yunis took the first doses on Saturday.
Children must get the second dose of the vaccine four weeks after the first one.
The World Health Organization (WHO) has already delivered at least 1.26 million doses to Gaza.
To fully administer the doses, the Health Ministry in Gaza has identified vaccination centers, as follows:
- 67 in central Gaza
- 59 in southern Gaza
- 33 in northern Gaza
Most of these centers are hospitals, smaller health centres and schools.
The WHO announced on Thursday that Israel had agreed to a series of three-day “humanitarian pauses” in northern, southern and central areas to facilitate vaccinations.
However, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stressed that these pauses will not lead to any kind of ceasefire in Gaza War.
“There are a lot of drones flying over central Gaza and we hope this vaccination campaign for children will be calm,” Yasser Shaaban, medical director of Al-Awda hospital in central Gaza, said on Sunday.
Related Topics:
WHO: Israel Agrees to Pauses in Gaza Fighting for Polio Vaccination
Saudi Crown Prince Meets Palestinian President, Discuss Gaza Crisis
Israeli Defense Minister Heads to US to Discuss Gaza, Lebanon
