The campaign began in the central part of the densely populated Gaza Strip, where the WHO initially expected to vaccinate 156,500 children under the age of 10.
“Our target for the central zone was an underestimation,” Peeperkorn said, adding this was probably due to an underestimate of the population crowded into the area.
He said the vaccination drive was expected to shift to southern Gaza on Thursday, with the aim of immunising some 340,000 children there.
It would then move to the north of the Strip, where around 150,000 will be vaccinated.
“We still have 10 days to go at least” for the whole first portion of the campaign, Peeperkorn said, and the rollout of the necessary second dose would begin in four weeks’ time.
Israel’s military assault on Gaza since October has so far killed at least 40,819 people there, according to the territory’s health ministry.
The United Nations rights office says most of the dead are women and children.
War has been raging in the Palestinian territory since an attack in Israel on Oct 7 by fighters from the Palestinian group Hamas.
That attack resulted in the deaths of 1,205 people, mostly civilians and including hostages taken by Hamas, according to an AFP tally based on Israeli official figures.
Source: CNA
