More than 157,000 children vaccinated in the second round of the anti-polio campaign in Gaza

MADRID 16 Oct. (EUROPA PRESS) –

The United Nations Agency for Palestinian Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) reported this Wednesday that 157,000 children have already been vaccinated against polio in the Gaza Strip as part of the second round of the campaign launched this week. and that follows a first vaccination process that was successfully resolved.

The second day of vaccination has allowed another 64,000 children under ten years of age to be inoculated with the dose, so, “despite the great challenges” in the Palestinian enclave, the campaign continues. “We are working to protect local communities,” UNRWA said in a message on its X account.

This second round is also being used by humanitarian organizations on the ground to give vitamin A supplements to children to boost their immune systems. In this sense, UNRWA estimates that some 51,000 minors have already benefited from these doses.

The objective of the campaign is to vaccinate some 590,000 children under the age of ten and alleviate the serious health deficiencies caused by more than a year of Israeli military offensive against the Gaza Strip, where more than 42,400 people have already died.

In August, the World Health Organization (WHO) confirmed a case of polio in a ten-month-old baby in the center of the Palestinian enclave in the midst of the Israeli offensive, which marked the first case of this type recorded in the area in 25 years. years.