Children in Gaza's Khan Younis get first polio vaccines in campaign rollout - video Dailymotion

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Medics at Gaza’s Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis on Saturday (Aug 31) symbolically administered vaccines to several children ahead of the official launch of a campaign that aims to vaccinate 640,000 children across the Gaza Strip against polio.   WATCH MORE: https://thestartv.com/c/news SUBSCRIBE: https://cutt.ly/TheStar LIKE: https://fb.com/TheStarOnline

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00:00A polio vaccination campaign began on Saturday at Gaza's Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis.

00:08Administered by Gaza's health ministry in coordination with United Nations agencies,

00:13the campaign aims to vaccinate 640,000 children across the Gaza Strip against polio.

00:20I was afraid and nervous because this is something that scares the children.

00:25It's a shame that they don't move or eat or drink.

00:32They're still young, right? So it's something that scares them.

00:36When they announced the campaign to vaccinate against polio,

00:40I was very scared at first.

00:43First of all, God forbid, that they might get this disease.

00:47I was afraid that it wouldn't be safe.

00:49Thank God, after they confirmed that the vaccination is safe,

00:53I was able to come and get this vaccination with my son.

00:59I came as the first child to get this vaccination.

01:02God willing, this is the first dose.

01:04After four weeks, there will be another dose.

01:06God willing, I will bring my son and he will get it.

01:08God willing, he will get the full dose that can be vaccinated

01:12against any disease that you might get, God forbid, in the coming years.

01:15Many parents expressed concerns about their children's safety

01:19as they navigated through ongoing strikes to receive the vaccine.

01:23Every step you take, you have to thank God that you walked safely.

01:27Because it's something that scares you.

01:30Because of the bombings, the explosions, the planes and all that,

01:34you get scared.

01:35That's why it's so small.

01:37Any dust, anything that gets contaminated,

01:39anything, any virus, any skin infection,

01:42or bacteria, or anything, God forbid.

01:44The campaign depends on daily eight-hour pauses

01:47in fighting between Israel and Hamas militants

01:51in designated areas of the besieged enclave.

01:54The campaign follows the confirmation last week

01:57of the first case of type 2 polio in Gaza in 25 years,

02:01which resulted in a baby being paralyzed.

02:04World Health Organization, WHO officials,

02:08stated that at least 90% of children need to be vaccinated twice

02:12with a four-week interval between doses for the campaign to succeed.

02:17However, the effort faces significant challenges in Gaza,

02:20which has been devastated by nearly 11 months of conflict.

02:25On Saturday, medics at Nasser Hospital symbolically administered vaccines

02:30to some children ahead of the official start of the campaign.

Children in Gaza's Khan Younis get first polio vaccines in campaign rollout

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