The Palestinian Ministry of Health announced on Monday that "thousands of doses of vaccines for childhood diseases, including polio and measles, have started to enter the Gaza Strip to help address the increasing health emergency in the besieged enclave." The ministry stated that "the supplies, estimated to be sufficient to cover vaccinations for a period of eight to 14 months, entered Gaza through the Rafah border crossing with Egypt, assisted by the Egyptian government's cooling facilities."
In turn, Yasser Bouzeia, head of the international cooperation unit at the Ministry of Health in Ramallah, clarified that "there are an estimated 60,000 newborns in Gaza who were supposed to receive vaccinations under normal circumstances but are largely deprived of medical services." He pointed out that "administering the vaccines will be difficult as most of Gaza's population has been displaced from their homes, with hundreds of thousands living in tents or other temporary shelters."
The ministry indicated that "vaccines against diseases like German measles, polio, measles, and mumps (parotitis) come from supplies purchased by the ministry and also donated by the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF)." The Israeli ground assault has halted regular health services in Gaza, including vaccinations against childhood diseases that have been controlled through comprehensive immunization programs.
