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

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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.