Israel, Hamas agree to pauses for polio vaccinations in Gaza: WHO

United Nations, Aug 30: Israel and Hamas have agreed to three separate, zoned three-day pauses in fighting in the Gaza Strip for the polio vaccination campaign, a World Health Organization (WHO) official has said. The polio vaccination campaign in Gaza will start on September 1, said Rik Peeperkorn, head of the WHO office for the West Bank and Gaza, when briefing reporters at the UN headquarters in New York on Thursday.

The agreement was for the pauses to take place between 6 a.m. and 3 p.m. local time, starting in central Gaza with a three-day pause in fighting, then southern Gaza with another three-day pause, and followed by northern Gaza, Xinhua news agency reported, citing Peeperkorn. The campaign targets some 640,000 children, with each child from birth to 10 years old receiving two doses of the vaccine.

The Gaza Strip recorded its first case of poliovirus infection in 25 years earlier this month. Polio is a highly infectious viral disease that primarily affects children under five. According to the WHO, it spreads person-to-person, mainly through the fecal-oral route or, less commonly, through contaminated water or food.