Palestinian Health Authorities, UN Agencies Start Polio Vaccination Campaign In Gaza Strip

The AP (9/2, Shurafa, Magdy) reports, “Palestinian health authorities and United Nations agencies on Sunday began a large-scale campaign of vaccinations against polio in the Gaza Strip, hoping to prevent an outbreak in the territory that has been ravaged by the Israel-Hamas war.” Officials “plan to vaccinate children in central Gaza until Wednesday before moving on to the more devastated northern and southern parts of the strip.” The vaccination “campaign began with a small number of” inoculations “on Saturday and aims to reach about 640,000 children.” The Washington Post (8/31, A1, H. Sun, Harb) reported, “The WHO announced Thursday that there will be limited ‘humanitarian pauses’ in Gaza to allow for a vaccination campaign lasting three to four days in each zone.” However, “due to dislocation, lack of security, and damage to roads and infrastructure, the three days might not be enough to reach the 90 percent coverage needed to stop transmission in Gaza and prevent international spread, [Rik Peeperkorn, who heads WHO operations in the occupied territories of Gaza and the West Bank,] said.”