Second phase of polio vaccinations completed in the Gaza Strip

The polio immunization campaign in the Gaza Strip is on track, the United Nations said in New York on Monday.

Following the completion of the second of three phases, more than 446,000 children in the Gaza Strip have been reached in the fight against the highly contagious virus, UN spokesman Stéphane Dujarric said.

This corresponds to almost 70% of the total number of 640,000 children to be vaccinated.

The third phase, in which the children in the north of the Gaza Strip are to receive the oral vaccine, is to begin on Tuesday.

However, some evacuation orders from the Israeli army in the area are causing concern, it was reported.

Following the operation in the north of the coastal strip, a further round of vaccinations is planned four weeks after the start of the campaign.

The pauses in fighting required for the vaccinations were reportedly largely observed.

According to World Health Organization (WHO) figures, more than 90% of children need to be vaccinated to prevent the spread of polio.

The first case of polio in 25 years was recently discovered in the Gaza Strip.