The United Nations World Health Organization has formally begun a campaign to mass-vaccinate Palestinian children against polio after the disease reemerged in the war-torn Gaza Strip. Gaza recently reported its first polio case in a quarter century, afflicting a 10-month-old boy whose leg was paralyzed by the disease.
In response, a coalition of local Gaza health authorities and the WHO on Saturday began a campaign that hopes to vaccinate 640,000 children under the age of 10 in Gaza to prevent the disease from spreading. Those treated will receive the vaccine in two oral doses—one administered during the current round of vaccination and a follow up dose around four weeks later.
The vaccination campaign began following a deal between the WHO and Israel, which agreed to limited pauses in the fighting to allow vaccination centers to operate. Vaccinations are expected to continue until Sept. 9.