News update: Polio vaccinations continue in Gaza

The second round of polio vaccination in Gaza began on Oct. 14, as a joint project of several United Nations agencies, including the World Health Organization, UNICEF and the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), as well as the Ministry of Health in Gaza. So far over 90,000 children have been vaccinated. You can track progress here.

The aim is to revaccinate the 590,000 children who received a first dose earlier this fall, with the goal of stopping circulation of a vaccine-derived virus that causes paralysis and has been diagnosed in a least one child.

Public health officials have emphasized the importance of resuming all childhood vaccinations in Gaza, including vaccination for measles, a highly contagious virus that is especially lethal in the presence of undernutrition. Eliminating the spread of measles requires 90% or higher immunity, and now has declined below recommended levels, especially among very young children. The routine vaccination program should include the trivalent inactive polio vaccine (IPV), which protects against all polio types. Bacterial diseases, including cholera, also pose a threat to the population in Gaza.

To learn more about the risk of polio in Gaza, watch our recent webinar or read this article about the event.

Featured Photo: Anas Mohammed / Shutterstock