Minister of Health Majed Abu Ramadan said, "The Ministry's teams in the Gaza Strip will implement a vaccination campaign for children under the age of 10 in the coming days, in cooperation with UNRWA, and in coordination with UNICEF and the World Health Organization."

Abu Ramadan explained, during a press conference held at the ministry’s headquarters in Al-Bireh, today, Saturday, to discuss the latest developments regarding the health situation in the sector, the registration of a case of polio and the ministry’s procedures to deal with it, that the vaccination campaign will be carried out in two stages, as 1.2 million doses of the second type of polio vaccine have been provided, and 400 thousand other doses are being provided.

The Minister of Health stressed that the government gives this matter top priority and is harnessing all its capabilities to protect our children. Therefore, the Ministry has worked during the past weeks to develop a comprehensive, integrated plan to implement an extensive vaccination campaign against polio in the Gaza Strip.

The Ministry of Health had previously recorded the first case of polio in the southern governorates, in the city of Deir al-Balah, for a 10-month-old child, who had not received any vaccination dose, and doctors suspected the presence of symptoms consistent with the disease. After conducting the necessary tests in the Jordanian capital, Amman, the infection with the polio virus strain derived from the vaccine was confirmed.

He explained that the presence of one infection could mean the presence of hundreds of other undetected cases, especially since 200 cases are infected with the polio virus, and the infection takes the form of a cold or a simple fever, but only one infection out of 200 shows identical symptoms of polio.

He pointed out that the ministry has so far recorded three suspected cases in three governorates, one of which is positive.

Abu Ramadan stressed that the continued brutal Israeli aggression on the Gaza Strip has resulted in a health disaster, as attested by international organizations. The lack of basic hygiene needs, the lack of sanitation services, the accumulation of waste in the streets and around the places where displaced people are sheltered, and the lack of safe drinking water have created an environment conducive to the spread and transmission of many epidemics, including: waterborne diseases, such as: vaccine-derived polio virus, and viral hepatitis A.

He called on the international community and international health organizations to quickly intervene to immediately stop the brutal Israeli aggression on the Gaza Strip, and to work on preparing the field conditions in order to save what can be saved, and to provide health care services immediately, in addition to the necessity of working to rebuild safe drinking water systems, sanitation, and the disposal of medical and solid waste.

He also called for the need to work on bringing in fuel to pump clean fresh water, and for unconditional permission to enter medical supplies, medicines, and special materials used for personal hygiene.

In response to a question about vaccinating adults, the Minister of Health said that it is not necessary to vaccinate them if they have previously taken the vaccine, and it is necessary to give an additional vaccine to some cases of people with low immunity or the elderly.

Regarding the precautionary measures in this regard in the West Bank, Abu Ramadan said that the ministry is ready and takes all matters seriously, and there are many studies that we are conducting in cooperation with various organizations, and if there is any doubt about the need for vaccination, it will be provided immediately.