WHO says it's in talks with Israel to start 2nd round of polio vaccination drive in Gaza on Oct 14

Amid the brewing tensions in the Middle East, the World Health Organisation said on Friday that it hopes to start the second round of polio vaccination drive in Gaza. The international body stated that it fears that the disease is spreading rapidly in the conflict-stricken coastal enclave and expressed the need for intervention.

The WHO said that it is in talks with Israel to start the second phase of the polio vaccination drive on October 14. “We have requested the start of the second round of the polio campaign on October 14… and we expect that the vaccination should finish by October 29,” said Ayadil Saparbekov, the senior WHO official for emergencies in the Palestinian territories, The Times of Israel reported.

Much of the coastal enclave lies in ruins as the majority of 2.4 million residents have been forced to flee their homes due to the war. As a result of this, the refugee camps in the region are cramped and people often have to live in unsanitary conditions.

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Gaza grapples with polio

In August this year, Gaza reported its first case of polio in 25 years. In a bid to prevent the spread of the disease, the United Nations launched a mass vaccination campaign effort in the territory on September 1 in coordination with Israel, aiming to administer an initial oral dose of vaccine. Over 640,000 children under the age of 10 were given polio vaccine doses in the first phase.

At that time, the officials noted that the campaign was successful, with vaccination coverage reaching at least 90 per cent of children. On Friday, Saparbekov said that discussions on providing the second dose in October are currently underway with the Israeli defence and health ministries and partners on the ground in Gaza to monitor the situation.

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It is important to note that two doses of vaccine must be administered four weeks apart to prevent the spread of the virus. The authorities detected sewage samples in Gaza in June, according to the Global Polio Eradication Initiative. The WHO is also anxious to prevent an epidemic of variant type 2 poliovirus (cVDPV2) after it was detected in a 10-month-old baby in Gaza in August.