Polio Vaccination Campaign Underway in Gaza

The polio vaccination campaign in Gaza is now in its second day, with over 70,000 children vaccinated alongside efforts to immunize 640,000 children under 10 by next Monday. The urgency for this campaign has grown, especially after the area reported its first polio case in 25 years in a 10-month-old boy who is now partially paralyzed. Dr. Christopher Loos, an epidemiologist and cardiologist, stressed the importance of vaccinating to prevent more cases and discussed herd immunity's role in protecting unvaccinated individuals. Despite the challenges of low vaccination rates due to ongoing conflict, ramping up vaccination efforts is critical to prevent further disability caused by the disease. Dr. Loos emphasized that polio transmission occurs via the fecal-oral route, with severe symptoms affecting a small percentage of the population. Vaccination not only stabilizes the situation but also aims to eliminate the virus entirely from the region, drawing parallels between the potential eradication of polio and historical vaccination successes against smallpox. Failure to immunize could lead to increased cases and the possibility of the polio virus mutating due to insufficient vaccination.