Deaths expected in Gaza as influenza spreads

Ahed Samour, a nutrition specialist at the Gaza Ministry of Health, predicted deaths and admissions to intensive care units in the Gaza Strip with the peak of the flu season in January and February.

Samour, the director of the Family, Childhood, and Communicable and Non-Communicable Diseases Sector at the Ministry of Health, said on Wednesday that “Gaza residents are suffering from a severe lack of immunity due to malnutrition and famine over the past year.”

He added that “so far, there have been no deaths, but some cases have already been admitted to intensive care,” noting that “annual flu vaccinations have not been given to vulnerable groups because they are being prevented from entering Gaza.”

The Ministry of Health official indicated that “12,000 doses of the vaccine are ready, but the Israeli occupation is refusing to allow them into Gaza, while the absence of the vaccines will lead to an increase in infections and serious complications.”

He also noted that “medicines and painkillers are almost nonexistent, and the Ministry of Health’s stocks of many items are completely depleted.”