UNRWA: Gaza Polio Vaccine Drive Has Reached 90% of Children

0:00

/1861

1×

Facts

• The UN's primary agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) said on Monday that a drive to vaccinate against polio in Gaza had reached 90% of children in the strip. It added that the next step would be a second round of vaccinations at the end of the month.^[1]
• The World Health Organization (WHO) said that the campaign had been a 'massive success,' even under incredibly challenging conditions, noting that local pauses in fighting to ensure vaccine administration had held up.^[2]
• The campaign began at the beginning of the month to vaccinate over 640K children under 10 after the WHO confirmed in August that a baby had been partially paralyzed by the type 2 polio virus, the first such case in Gaza in 25 years.^[3]
• The destruction of water and sanitation systems caused by Israel's bombing campaign is thought to have created the conditions for polio to re-emerge in the strip. A UN-led group said that around 70% of all water and sanitation facilities in Gaza have been destroyed or damaged.^[4]
• Some scientists blamed the WHO's vaccination policies, saying that the outbreak was caused by a mutated strain of the virus that vaccinated people shed in their waste. The scientists noted that the WHO's eradication campaign against polio has been largely successful.^[5]

Sources: ^[1]Timesofisrael, ^[2]UN News, ^[3]Reuters, ^[4]CNN and ^[5]Associated Press.

Narratives

• Pro-establishment narrative, as provided by New York Times. Humanitarian pauses are necessary to ensure that Gaza's children are protected from polio. Both sides need to respect a temporary truce so that health workers can administer vaccines effectively. Israel has worked with the US and humanitarian agencies to help make this process smoother.
• Pro-Israel narrative, as provided by ISRAEL HAYOM. Though Israel is committed to its war goals and the release of all hostages, a polio outbreak in Gaza would be a disaster for both Palestinians and Israelis. Israel has not accepted a cease-fire or a temporary truce that applies to all of Gaza, as the agreement stipulates that specific areas will see a cessation of hostilities.
• Pro-Palestine narrative, as provided by Al Jazeera. The US has consistently failed to address Israel's intransigence regarding the situation in Gaza. Allowing for a vaccination campaign is the bare minimum in terms of reducing the suffering of Palestinians who are still facing Israel's genocidal war.