Nearly 3 million doses of polio vaccines delivered to Gaza since Oct 2023: Israel

Jerusalem, Aug 19: Nearly 3 million doses of polio vaccines have been delivered to the Gaza Strip since the onset of the Hamas-Israel conflict in October 2023, according to Israeli authorities.

A total of 282,126 vials of the polio vaccine, sufficient for 2,821,260 doses, have been sent to Gaza since the war broke out, Israel's Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT) said in a statement.

It added that since the discovery of the virus in July, 9,000 vials were brought through the Kerem Shalom crossing, providing 90,000 additional doses of the vaccine, Xinhua news agency reported.

In the coming weeks, an additional 43,250 vials of vaccine, tailored to combat the specific strain of the virus found in environmental samples in Gaza, are expected to arrive in Israel before being delivered to Gaza, the statement said. The COGAT also announced plans to allow medical teams to enter Gaza to assist with the vaccination effort.

Gaza health officials reported on Friday the first case of poliovirus infection in 25 years, prompting the WHO to call for an immediate ceasefire to enable a vaccination campaign in the war-torn enclave.

The widespread destruction across Gaza from Israeli attacks, compounded by a lack of clean water, regular waste removal, and functioning sewage systems, has heightened the risk of potential epidemics.