WHO Completes First Round of Gaza Polio Vaccinations After First Cases in Decades

A child receives a vaccination for polio in Deir el-Balah in the central Gaza Strip on Sept. 4, 2024. Eyad Baba/AFP via Getty Images

Amid the ongoing war in Gaza, the World Health Organization (WHO) has completed the first phase of its polio vaccination campaign to help curb an outbreak of the disease in the war-torn enclave.

According to a Sept. 4 press release, the U.N. agency vaccinated over 187,000 children in central Gaza under ten years of age. The city recently recorded its first case of polio in 25 years, a 10-month-old who is now paralyzed in one leg.

Dr. Richard Peeperkorn, the WHO Representative for the territory, said it was “encouraging” to see so many children able to access vaccines despite the “deplorable conditions” and wider war taking place.

“All parties respected the humanitarian pause and we hope to see this positive momentum continue,” Dr. Peeperkorn said.

“We call on all parties to continue fulfilling their commitment to the humanitarian pauses as the second phase of the campaign begins tomorrow.”

The Israeli military and Hamas fighters agreed to temporary humanitarian daily staggered pauses in fighting around central Gaza to allow for the vaccinations to take place. The first phase of the campaign was conducted by over 2,180 health and community outreach workers between Sept. 1 and Sept. 3.

Initially, the agency only expected to vaccinate 157,000 children but more vaccines were administered due to population movement towards central Gaza and expanded coverage in areas outside the humanitarian pause zone.

Phase Two and Three to Start Soon

The next phase of the vaccination campaign will start in southern Gaza on Sept. 5 and aim to vaccinate 340,000 children under ten years of age. A third and final phase is being planned in northern Gaza, starting on Sept. 9 and aiming to vaccinate around 150,000 children.

At the moment, the WHO has detected the polio virus in six different environmental samples, such as wastewater. The agency says at least a 90 percent vaccination rate during each round of the campaign is needed to stop the outbreak, prevent the spread, and reduce the risk of its re-emergence.

Transmitted from person to person, the disease is caused by the poliovirus and targets nerve cells in the spinal cord and brainstem that control muscle movement.

Louise Wateridge from the U.N. Agency for Palestine Refugees said that while the polio campaign’s success might help curb an outbreak, other diseases are also running rampant.

“The reality is that these vaccinations are happening in the middle of a war zone, while many other diseases, such as hepatitis A, are spreading,” Wateridge said.

“Most of the children I’ve seen are covered in skin diseases and rashes, so while we’re doing everything we can to vaccinate for one disease, the inhumane conditions that are causing and spreading these diseases continues.”