Second round of polio vaccination campaign launched in Gaza

A Palestinian child receives a polio vaccination at a UNRWA clinic as part of the second phase of the polio vaccination campaign for children under 10 years old in the central governorate in cooperation with the World Health Organization, the UN agency for Palestinian refugees, UNRWA, and the UN Children’s Fund, UNICEF, in Deir al-Balah, Gaza on October 14, 2024 [Ashraf Amra/Anadolu Agency]

The Primary Care Department of the Palestinian Red Crescent Society in cooperation with the World Health Organisation, UNICEF and UNRWA have launched a second round of polio vaccinations in the Gaza Strip.

The campaign aims to inoculate children under the age of ten in the central governorate of the Gaza Strip, as part of ongoing efforts to protect children from infectious diseases, especially considering the deterioration of health conditions in the besieged Strip.

The campaign will last for three days, with the possibility of extending it for an additional day and will include the Deir Al-Balah Clinic, Al-Bassa Clinic, Al-Sawarah Clinic, Al-Zawaideh Clinic and Al-Nuseirat Clinic.

In addition to vaccination, vitamin A supplements will be provided to the children, to boost their immunity amid health challenges linked to deteriorating hygiene standards in Gaza.

The drive comes after a ten-month-old baby became paralysed by the type 2 polio virus, the first such case in the territory in 25 years.

READ: Peace ‘best vaccine’ for children in Gaza: WHO

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