A second round of the campaign will follow, ideally within four weeks, to provide a second dose of nOPV2 to children in Gaza to stop the outbreak and prevent its international spread.

To repeat this ambitious intervention, reach enough children, and successfully stop further transmission of the poliovirus, WHO, UNICEF and UNRWA are calling on all parties to the conflict to commit to another round of humanitarian pauses, with unimpeded access to children in areas that need special coordination.

Ultimately, they ask to a long-lasting ceasefire as all families in the Gaza Strip need peace so they can begin to heal and rebuild their lives. They humanitarian association and NGO obtained the right to provide the second round of Polio vaccination from Israel. The last step, concerning the North seems however compromized by the ground invasion, the complete siege and the blockade of all humnitarian aid in the North of Gaza city.

Source 1

Source 2

Source 3

Ministry of Health statement on October 13

On october 13, while Israeli forces are surrounded the North of Gaza, the Ministry of Health announces the launch of the second round of the polio vaccination campaign in the Gaza Strip

According to the Palestinian Health Minister Dr. Majed Abu Ramadan, the second round of the polio vaccination campaign in the Gaza Strip will be launched the October 14 for children under ten years old.

• The vaccination campaign will consist of three stages, the first in the central region of Deir al-Balah and will last three days, from October 14 to 17, and may be extended for an additional day.

• The second phase will take place in Khan Yunis and Rafah governorates, from October 19 to 22,

• The third phase will take place in Gaza and North governorates, from October 22 to 25.

• The second dose of the N-OPV oral polio vaccine will be administered, in addition to vitamin A, which strengthens children's immunity, helps them resist infection and helps improve vision and healthy growth.

• The campaign aims to vaccinate 591,700 children under the age of ten, and fixed and mobile teams will be deployed to carry out the campaign.

• The success of this campaign depends on a humanitarian truce to ensure the ability of all polio workers to work in a safe environment and allow families to vaccinate their children.

First step (october 14 to 17)

On october 14, a strike hit a hospital courtyard, burning the tents where people were sleeping. Just before this, an UNRWA school sheltering families was hit in Nuseirat. That same school was going to be used as a #polio vaccination site today.

On October 18, according to WHO, the first phase of the #polio vaccination campaign in central Gaza ha successfully concluded. With 181 429 children under 10 years vaccinated, and 148 064 children between 2-10 years received vitamin A supplements. 8 health facilities in the area will continue to provide polio vaccines for families who hadn't managed to bring their children so far.

On october 20n UNRWA says over 181,000 children have been vaccinated in the central Gaza area during the 2nd round of the polio vaccination campaign. This comes amid thousands of people are stranded in northern Gaza with water and food running low. It stressed that UNRWA facilities continue to be impacted by Israeli military operations in Gaza enclave. According to Joe English, "Despite a - to put it mildly - highly complex situation in the Gaza Strip, UNICEF, UNRWA, WHO and the Palestinian Ministry of Health completed the second round of the polio vaccination campaign in 14 municipalities of Gaza’s Middle Area".

Second Step (October 19 to 22)

WHO in occupied Palestinian territory @WHOoPt On the second day of the polio vaccination campaign in southern #Gaza: - 90,716 children were vaccinated

• 70,722 received vitamin A

This brings the total number of children vaccinated since the start of the campaign on 14 Oct to 𝟒𝟐𝟎,𝟏𝟎𝟎, while 𝟑𝟑𝟗,𝟖𝟖𝟓 children have received vitamin A so far.

Third step (Gaza City and Northern gaza)

The siege of northern Gaza, the intense bombings, the Israeli ground invasion, the completely blocked humanitarian aid have stopped the campaign in the northern part of North Gaza. All international organizations involved in the vaccination campaign have called for an immediate ceasefire. They recalled that without a vaccination rate of 90% of children, the polio virus could mutate and the epidemic spread to the entire population. They highlight the extreme humanitarian crisis affecting the population of the North, without food or water and facing a health system destroyed by Israeli aggression towards hospitals, aid services and civil defense. According to Hind Khoudary, on November 2, Gaza’s north, thousands of children will not get the polio vaccine because they are unreachable. Israeli forces are not letting UNICEF, the World Health Organization, and the Palestinian Ministry of Health reach those besieged areas.

Incidents:

Hind Khoudary, reports on November 2 3:15 pm that the Polio vaccination centre was targeted with sound bombs in Gaza City, Sheikh Radwan Clinic. The bombing injured three children and caused great panic. from an Israeli quadcopter. There are a lot of fragments that fall after these attack injured at least three children. The polio campaign restarted despite challenges faced by the World Health Organization, UNICEF and the Palestinian Ministry of Health. They were denied access, previously unable to cross from the southern Gaza Strip to Gaza City.

Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, director of WHO statement : "We have received an extremely concerning report that the Sheikh Radwan primary health care centre in northern #Gaza was struck today while parents were bringing their children to the life-saving #polio vaccination in an area where a humanitarian pause was agreed to allow vaccination to proceed. Six people, including four children, were injured. A WHO team was at the site just before. This attack, during humanitarian pause, jeopardises the sanctity of health protection for children and may deter parents from bringing their children for vaccination.These vital humanitarian-area-specific pauses must be absolutely respected. Ceasefire!"

On November 2, while large numbers of children rushed to Muscat Clinic in the Sabra neighborhood, south of Gaza City to receive polio vaccination, Israeli forces carried out an airstrike killing 1 people and wounding 7 others CHILDREN near the clinic, according to Motasem A Dalloul

On November 3, The United Nations reports that a polio vaccination center and the vehicle of a UNICEF official involved in this weekend’s vaccination campaign came under fire despite a declared “humanitarian pause” in Israeli strikes.source : 1

External sources :

Source 1 Source 2