IDF announces over 90% of Gaza children vaccinated, polio vaccination campaign successfully completed

The IDF's unit for Coordination of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT) and the U.N. announced on Wednesday the successful completion of the second round of a polio vaccination drive in Gaza, that was started after samples of the disease had been found in the Gaza Strip's water supply. 

The first round of vaccinations in this campaign was completed in the beginning of September, with the IDF adjusting its operations in Gaza to allow entry of the vaccines and teams of medical workers to distribute the vaccines to children. COGAT previously coordinated the entry of 282,126 vials of the polio vaccine, sufficient for 2,821,260 doses, after the discovery of the virus.

According to the World Health Organization, the vaccine drive involved a “network of teams, vaccinating at selected fixed sites at health facilities and outreach posts,” including mobile teams traveling to each site, and “area-specific humanitarian pause of nine hours” to enable the teams to work safely. 

The IDF said that 1.1 million vaccines had been administered in the campaign, with a vaccination rate of over 90 percent among children under 10 years-old, the critical age group. 

The campaign was carried out jointly by COGAT, the World Health Organization (WHO), and UNICEF. 

The impetus for the vaccine drive was the discovery of the polio virus in the Gaza water supply and the diagnosis of polio in a 10-month-old baby in central Gaza, the first documented case in the Strip in 25 years. 

“The vaccination campaign against the polio virus has been successfully completed with 2 rounds, hundreds of thousands of children vaccinated, hundreds of medical teams, and tactical pauses implemented,” COGAT said in a post to 𝕏. “We worked with WHO and UNICEF to facilitate an effective vaccination campaign, and with over 93% of children under 10 vaccinated = success.” 

The vaccination campaign against the polio virus has been successfully completed with 2 rounds, hundreds of thousands of children vaccinated, hundreds of medical teams, and tactical pauses implemented. We worked with @WHO and @UNICEF to facilitate an effective vaccination… pic.twitter.com/KAA9r0BQcH

— COGAT (@cogatonline) November 6, 2024

“We will continue to expand our efforts to facilitate humanitarian responses, particularly in the medical field,” COGAT continued. 

Over 355,000 vials of the polio vaccine have been delivered to Gaza in the past three months, which is enough to immunize around 4.8 million people, far above the estimated 2.1 million population for the Strip in 2023. COGAt has also facilitated the delivery of 619,332 other vaccines and medicines to the Gaza Strip, the organization said. 

“The State of Israel, through COGAT, will continue to act in accordance with international law, addressing the medical situation of civilians in Gaza,” COGAT said. 

The UN said that humanitarian pauses, as those used in this campaign, “must be systematically applied beyond the polio emergency response efforts to other health and humanitarian interventions to respond to dire needs.”