news

on september 1, local time, a polio vaccination campaign was launched in the gaza strip for 640,000 children under the age of 10. the entire vaccination campaign is divided into three phases, starting from september 1 in the central, southern and northern parts of the gaza strip, and each phase will last for 3 to 4 days. on the 1st, the first vaccination campaign was launched in the central part of the gaza strip, which will vaccinate about 160,000 local children.

cctv reporter khalid abu kumsan: we are now at a polio virus vaccination center in the central gaza strip. we can see a large number of people bringing their children to get vaccinated. this is the first day of the vaccination campaign. the vaccination will last more than ten days and cover all areas of the gaza strip. the goal is to vaccinate approximately 640,000 children in the gaza strip.

on the morning of september 1st, many gaza residents brought their children to get vaccinated.

ibrahim abu, head of the vaccination operation in the central gaza strip: there are a total of 40 fixed vaccination points and some mobile vaccination points in the region, distributed in areas such as deir el balah. the fixed vaccination points will continue to operate, and the mobile vaccination points will be set up flexibly according to the degree of gathering of people in a certain area.

gaza residents: we still need more medical support

to ensure the safety of the vaccination process, israel and hamas agreed to a temporary humanitarian ceasefire during the vaccination period. however, israel refused to implement a comprehensive ceasefire for vaccination, and only allowed vaccination personnel to use humanitarian corridors, and only allowed the establishment of safe zones in certain areas for vaccination at specific times. on september 1, the israeli army continued to launch air strikes in many places in the gaza strip.

some residents dared to go to the vaccination site only after ensuring safety. they said that the israeli air strikes destroyed their current lives, while diseases including polio destroyed the future of gaza. either threat is a pain that they cannot bear.

local resident akram abu abdu: vaccination is very important for my children. it can prevent viral infection and provide protection, reducing the incidence of polio. it is necessary to vaccinate children, not just polio, but also against various diseases because the conditions (living in gaza) are getting worse and worse.

local resident hassan zakit: under the long-term siege by the israeli army, medicines and medical supplies are extremely scarce, and almost all medical institutions in the gaza strip have been destroyed. considering the current spread of the epidemic in the gaza strip, i think the current (medical) efforts are not enough, and we need more international support.

polio vaccination begins, but it's too late

although large-scale polio vaccination has been carried out in the gaza strip since september 1, it is of no use to gaza resident nevin abu gideon because her son has been infected with the polio virus.

cctv reporter khalid abu kumsan: in this tent lacking basic living facilities, the little boy abdul rahman abu gideon lives with his family. abdul rahman was found to be infected with the polio virus. due to the lack of public health facilities and the restrictions on vaccines entering the gaza strip, the drinking water and sewage here are contaminated with the virus, which seriously threatens the lives of children in the gaza strip.

nevin abu gideon lived with her nine children in a tent in deir al-balah in the central gaza strip. one day, nevin found that her 11-month-old son abdul rahman suddenly had a fever and vomited continuously, so nevin took him to the hospital for examination. eventually, her son was diagnosed with polio.

gaza resident nevin abu gideon: later i received a call from the health department and they told me that my son was the first confirmed case of polio (in the gaza strip).

last october, not long after rahman turned one month old, a new round of large-scale conflict between palestine and israel broke out. nevin's family was forced to leave their home in the northern gaza strip and seek refuge in deir al-balah in the central part of the country. the tent they lived in was next to the toilet, and it was difficult to get clean food and drinking water on weekdays. such poor sanitary conditions created conditions for the spread of the virus. now rahman cannot stand, walk, or even crawl.

nevin abu gideon, a gaza resident: rahman will be one year old on september 1st. children of this age have started learning to walk, but now he can't move.

from the 1st to the 12th of this month, large-scale polio vaccinations will be launched in the central, southern and northern regions of the gaza strip. this news has eased the anxiety of many gaza parents, but for rahman, it is too late.

nevin abu gideon, a gaza resident: "the vaccine is useless for rahman because he has already been infected and affected by the virus. he should have grown up in a clean and healthy environment. unfortunately, the war has forced us to live in such harsh conditions."

source: cctv news