Over 250,000 Vials of the Polio Vaccine Have Been Sent to Gaza

As part of the medical efforts for Gaza led by the Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT), the entry to Gaza of vaccines for disease and epidemic prevention, is being facilitated. This includes the entry of medical teams and vaccines against the polio virus.

Since the beginning of the war, COGAT has coordinated the entry of 282,126 vials of the polio vaccine, sufficient for 2,821,260 doses, into Gaza. Since the discovery of the virus in July, and as part of the vaccination campaign, 9,000 vials were brought through the Kerem Shalom crossing, providing 90,000 additional doses of the vaccine.

In the coming weeks, 43,250 vials of vaccine, tailored to the virus found in environmental samples, are expected to arrive in Israel and will enter Gaza. This will be sufficient to vaccinate over one million children (in two rounds)—a total of 2,162,500 doses.

COGAT conducts in-depth situational assessments twice a week with the Ministry of Health, the WHO, and UNICEF to understand the status of the spread of the virus in Gaza. Additionally, specific meetings are held to implement vaccinations among the population in Gaza in cooperation with USAID.

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), about 90% of the population in the Gaza Strip was vaccinated against polio in the first quarter of 2024.

Furthermore, as part of the medical response provided by the State of Israel, COGAT maintains continuous contact and conducts situational assessments with all health system stakeholders and the international community for ongoing monitoring of the medical situation in Gaza. As part of this effort, since the beginning of the war, the State of Israel has facilitated the establishment of 14 field hospitals in Gaza, alongside the entry of 2,566 trucks carrying 25,955 tons of medications and medical equipment into Gaza, which have been distributed to the population.

Attached are Photos Showing the Entry of Vaccines for the Residents of Gaza: