Monday, November 4

Polio vaccines have finally arrived in the Gaza Strip, providing some health benefits to an area that has been ravaged by war and is currently at risk of a major outbreak.

The World Health Organization (WHO) and the United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund (UNICEF) have been attempting to get polio vaccines into Gaza for months, aiming to execute a two-phase vaccination plan to prevent the spread of polio in children. However, those plans have been hindered by Israel's war efforts.

Polio is a highly contagious viral disease that is usually asymptomatic, but it can cause severe paralysis and even death. Poliovirus enters the body through the mouth, spreading through respiratory droplets or contaminated water. It proceeds to multiply in the intestines before entering the nervous system, where it heads towards the brain. Once the poliovirus is in the spinal cord, it begins destroying cells, causing muscle wasting and paralysis. If the polio is left untreated for long enough, it can even cause death. In fact, in the 1940s and 1950s, when polio was at its peak, the virus killed or paralyzed over 500,000 people per year.

After poliovirus was detected in wastewater in Gaza in July, talks of vaccinations began. Then, a 10-year-old boy became the first child to be paralyzed by polio since 1999, increasing fears of a local outbreak. The first stage of the vaccinations took place back in September, during which Israel and Hamas agreed to pause the fighting to allow the UN to vaccinate children. They vaccinated a total of 640,000 children across northern, central, and southern Gaza, making the first part if the mission a success.

Unfortunately, due to intense warring in Gaza, the second stage of polio vaccines has not been completed. Children require at least two doses of the vaccine to attain 90% immunity to polio, while three doses provides 99% immunity. However, the second dose has only been administered to 94,000 children in Gaza, as northern Gaza remains under siege by Israel. Israel has blocked off large portions of northern Gaza, preventing over 100,000 citizens from getting access to the much-needed food, water, and medicine waiting outside. Israel denies that it is preventing aid from entering Gaza, but their blockade is also preventing UNICEF from vaccinating children at risk of polio in the area.

The only way for the UN to vaccinate children in northern Gaza would be a temporary ceasefire or the removal of Israel's blockades, neither of which seem to be arriving anytime soon. Israel continues to pound Gaza with strikes and bombings until Hamas is completely obliterated, meaning that the war could continue for several more years. Meanwhile, they are also striking up conflicts with Hezbollah in Lebanon, where Israeli strikes have also done major damage. So far, the death toll in the Gaza war has surpassed 43,000 as more people are killed day by day, and almost 3,000 additional people have been killed in Lebanon. Hundreds of thousands of people have been injured, tens of thousands more are without food and water, and millions of people have been displaced by the conflicts.

Upcoming Events:

• Melbourne Cup (Monday, November 4)

• World Tsunami Awareness Day (Tuesday, November 5)

• US Elections (Tuesday, November 5)

• International Day for Preventing the Exploitation of the Environment in War and Armed Conflict (Wednesday, November 6)

• World Science Day for Peace and Development (Sunday, November 10)

Fact of the Day (Reader's Digest): The city of Boise, Idaho, celebrates the New Year by dropping a 16-foot-tall steel-and-foam potato.

Quote of the Day (Gracious Quotes): Success isn’t always about greatness. It’s about consistency. Consistent hard work leads to success. Greatness will come. (Dwayne Johnson)

Word of the Day (Merriam-Webster): Extricate (verb)- To extricate someone or something is to free or remove that person or thing from an entanglement or difficulty, such as a trap or a difficult conversation.

In a Sentence: She hasn't been able to extricate herself from her legal problems.