Massive polio vaccination campaign gets under way in Gazapublished at 07:06 British Summer Time
Johanna Chisholm
Live page editor
Image source, ReutersAbdul Rahman Abu Al-Jidyan is the first person to contract polio in the Gaza Strip in 25 years
This morning, healthcare workers across the Gaza Strip are going to begin embarking on a multi-day effort to vaccinate hundreds of thousands of children against the virus that can cause polio.
This historic effort was triggered earlier this summer after samples from the territory’s wastewater showed an early variant of type 2 poliovirus had been found.
And then last month, the first infection in more than 25 years was detected in a 10-month-old child.
A humanitarian pause in the fighting has been agreed to, which will be in effect for set hours each day as relief workers attempt to make their way across the 41km (10 mile) long strip to inoculate 640,000 children under the age of 10.
But outside of the ongoing hostilities, it’s an effort that’s guaranteed to present a number of logistical challenges.
The vaccines, for instance, need to be continuously stored in a limited temperature range – from the moment they are manufactured until they are administered.
And with temperatures today expected to reach 29C (84 F), it’ll be just one of the many hurdles that administrators need to navigate – all with limited resources.
We’re going to be bringing you live coverage of this mass vaccination campaign here on this page, so please stay with us as we bring you the latest developments.