Gaza aims for 90% vaccination coverage in second round of polio campaign

The second round of an emergency polio vaccination campaign is scheduled to start on 14 October 2024 in Gaza, to vaccinate an estimated 591,700 children under ten years of age with a second dose of the novel oral polio vaccine type 2 (nOPV2) vaccine.

This follows a first round, which was successfully implemented from 1-12 September 2024 and vaccinated 559 161 children, or an estimated 95% of eligible children at the governorate level, according to independently conducted post-campaign monitoring. As with the first round, the second round will have three phases, each involving three campaign days and one catch-up day.

A minimum of two doses of nOPV2 are needed to interrupt poliovirus transmission. However, this will only be achieved if at least 90% of all children are vaccinated in all communities and neighborhoods. In this round, vitamin A will be co-administered alongside the polio vaccine, to help boost overall immunity among children between the ages of two and nine years. 

The campaign, being conducted by the Palestinian Ministry of Health in collaboration with the World Health Organization (WHO), the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian Refugees (UNRWA), and other partners is part of emergency efforts to stop the polio outbreak in Gaza, which was detected on 16 July 2024, and prevent further spread of poliovirus.

Once again, meticulous planning, coordination, and implementation will see an extensive network of teams vaccinating at selected health facilities and outreach posts. Mobile teams will actively reach out to families living in shelters, tents, and camps for internally displaced people. Local teams will be deployed in areas that need special coordination to reach children, including those who could not receive the vaccine in the first round.

The first round demonstrated that overwhelming logistical challenges -; including operating amid devastated infrastructure and constant population movements -; can be overcome through an extraordinarily resilient and dedicated health workforce and strong community demand for polio vaccination if all parties respect the planned humanitarian pauses.

More than 800 social mobilizers will reach out to families to raise awareness on the importance of taking the second dose as well as on the dates and locations. Radio spots, short message services (SMS) and all digital channels available in Gaza will also amplify these messages. This outreach will continue until the round concludes.

Additionally, logistical and programmatic needs, such as training health and community workers, provision of adequate supplies, recording of data by independent monitors, and demarcation of areas being covered by mobile teams, have been streamlined for the second round.

To cover the two rounds, 1.6 million doses of the vaccines were delivered in the past two months as well as 20 refrigerators, 10 freezers, 100 ice boxes, and 800 vaccine carriers -; all equipment required to maintain vaccines at a temperature between 2 and 8 °C.

Once again, a humanitarian pause will be a pre-requisite to implementing a successful second round, particularly to ensure all polio workers can operate in a safe and secure environment, and communities and families can obtain vaccination for children without fear.

A substantial constraint to the polio campaign will again be reaching children living in areas outside humanitarian pauses, who were not covered in the last round. This requires coordination and approvals to allow program supervision and monitoring, which would contribute significantly to ensuring all children, regardless of their location, are vaccinated.

WHO and UNICEF renew their urgent request to all parties to the conflict to implement the necessary humanitarian pauses in Gaza for this second round. This is particularly critical as new evacuation orders in the north of Gaza are threatening access to hospitals and protection of health facilities and health and community workers. Vaccination teams must be protected and allowed to conduct the campaigns safely. We urge all parties to ensure their protection and that of health facilities and children.