Aug. 29 (UPI) — An agreement has been reached with Israel to allow a mass polio vaccination campaign to get underway in war-torn Gaza in a series of humanitarian pauses to begin on Sunday, the World Health Organization announced.
Dr. Rik Peeperkorn, WHO’s representative in the West Bank and Gaza, told reporters before an emergency meeting of the U.N. Security Council the vaccination campaign will be conducted in two rounds as the disease resurfaces after more than two decades.
More than 640,000 children under the age of 10 will receive two drops of oral polio vaccine type 2 under the program.
It is “vital that it reaches at least 90% coverage in both rounds,” Peeperkorn said.
Hamas spokesman Jihad Taha told the Qatari newspaper The New Arab the militant group had agreed to a seven-day humanitarian truce to allow the administering of polio vaccines to the Gazan population.
Meanwhile, the Washington Post quoted an unnamed U.S. State Department official confirming that Israel has agreed to a temporary pause of some military operations in the Gaza to enable a polio vaccination campaign, adding the the length and locations of pauses remained to be worked out.
Polio can cause partial paralysis and might lead to troubled breathing and death for those afflicted with it, according to the Mayo Clinic. Polio virus was detected in sewage samples in two locations, Khan Younis and Deir Al-Balah, meaning that the disease is circulating in the enclave and putting thousands of children at risk.
The United Nations said the vaccinations only could be administered when the “safe and sustained access of protection of health workers” is assured.
A humanitarian halt in the war was urged by U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres on Aug. 16.
“I am appealing to all parties to provide concrete assurances right away guaranteeing humanitarian pauses for the campaign,” he said, speaking to reporters at U.N. Headquarters in New York. “Let’s be clear: The ultimate vaccine for polio is peace and an immediate humanitarian cease-fire. But in any case, a ‘polio pause’ is a must.”
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