Polio vaccination campaign officially begins: Gaza health official
Three health centres in Gaza have begun delivering polio vaccines to children on the first day of the campaign’s official rollout, according to a local health official quoted by AFP. The campaign began at 9am (06:00 GMT) for children aged 10 and under, said Yasser Shaaban, medical director of al-Awda Hospital.
“There are a lot of drones flying over central Gaza and we hope this vaccination campaign for children will be calm,” said Shaaban.
The WHO said Israel has committed to daily pauses in fighting in areas where vaccines are being distributed in southern, central and northern Gaza, but PM Netanyahu has stressed such pauses do not amount to a full ceasefire during the rollout.
Palestinians gather for a polio vaccination campaign, at a UN health centre in Deir el-Balah, September 1
Drones hover over Deir el-Balah amid polio vaccination campaign
Parents have been bringing their children to medical points across Deir el-Balah this morning, lining them up in order to get vaccinated. Deir el-Balah has a high population, with many displaced families trapped here.
Workers are doing their best to deal with the high number of children needing vaccination.
Parents believe the vaccine will provide some protection for their children, whom they have struggled to protect since day one of the fighting, but not from bombardment.
Strangely, Israeli drones are hovering over Deir el-Balah, even though it is an area designated to be under a humanitarian pause. We have also heard loud explosions in the eastern area of Bureij in central Gaza, which has been excluded from the vaccination campaign and a humanitarian pause.
Vaccines being delivered in 28 UN-run facilities in central Gaza: UNRWA
More than 200 medical teams in central Gaza are helping deliver polio vaccines today in 28 UN-run health facilities, according to UNRWA.
The campaign, planned for at least three days, aims to vaccinate some 600,000 children in the enclave, but analysts have expressed concern whether the target can be met due to insecurity and limited mobility.
Children in #Gaza have started receiving polio vaccines this morning. This is today in Nuseirat.
The vaccination campaign has begun in the Gaza middle area, where over 200 of our teams are administrating vaccines in 28 @UNRWA health facilities and going tent to tent#UNRWAworks pic.twitter.com/xkZtVxDOCJ
— UNRWA (@UNRWA) September 1, 2024
