Following instructions from the government, the IDF on Monday began coordinating with UN officials to restart the polio vaccination campaign in Gaza.
IDF officers from the Coordination of Territorial Government Activities (COGAT) met with UN officials to oversee and coordinate the vaccination campaign.
The campaign has three main areas and will work with international organizations to deliver hundreds of thousands of needed vaccines.
The first three days will focus on the central Gaza Strip, followed by a two-day pause before resuming operations in southern Gaza, followed by a one-day pause before resuming in northern Gaza for three more days.
All vaccinations will be administered between 6 a.m. and 2 p.m., and all downtime will be used to reassess the population’s needs. A Palestinian girl receives a polio vaccination in Khan Yunis, southern Gaza Strip, on September 5, 2024, during the conflict between Israel and Hamas. (Credit: REUTERS/Mohammed Salem TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY)
Vaccination campaign
The IDF stressed that all vaccination campaigns will be carried out in coordination with the IDF to ensure the safe movement of civilians to medical centers where vaccinations will take place.
COGAT has prepared a campaign in collaboration with international organizations that includes a situational assessment.
They coordinated the arrival of the vaccine, associated medical and logistics equipment, and refrigeration equipment to store and transport the vaccine. Enter vitamins essential to campaign needs. Entry of polio experts to the Gaza Strip. Demarcate vaccination zones within operational systems. And so on.
According to the IDF, 341,826 vials of polio vaccine, equivalent to 4,703,260 doses, have entered Gaza via the Kerem Shalom crossing since the start of the war. Additionally, 16,350 vials, equivalent to 163,500 doses, entered Gaza on October 9.
The World Health Organization said that after this campaign, approximately 90% of the Gaza Strip’s population will be vaccinated against polio.
We bring you the latest news!
Subscribe to Jerusalem Post Newsletter
The IDF stressed that it has allowed and facilitated the entry of medical and humanitarian aid into Gaza, noting that more than 50,000 trucks have entered the Gaza Strip since the start of the war, including more than 1 million tons of cargo. It said it was loaded with humanitarian supplies and more than 820,000 tons of food. and approximately 27,000 tons of medical aid.
