Propaganda has surely paid off its roles and duties for the Israeli settlers: the media has portrayed them as being the country with the fastest, most developed, covid-19 vaccination plans. However, behind this perfect image lies a darker side to the story, one which highly discriminates against Palestinians’ rights to proper vaccination amid the ongoing pandemic.
To put it another way, you're 60 times more likely to get vaccinated in Israel than you are in Palestine. As an occupying authority, Israel has a responsibility to guarantee that the occupied people have access to medical care. According to the fourth Geneva convention, Israel must “[adopt] and [apply] the prophylactic and preventive measures necessary to combat the spread of contagious diseases and epidemics” to “the fullest extent of the means available to it.” The detrimental repercussions are being felt severely in Palestine's West Bank, and in the blockaded Gaza Strip, where Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) also work and endure the difficulties.
To date, over 485,000 cases were reported, along with over 5000 deaths among Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza. The virus's negative impacts can be noticed in the country's healthcare, economy, and government activities, resulting in a state of extreme uncertainty aggravated by the lack of successful treatment or vaccine. The level of understanding and faith in therapy and immunization differs dramatically around the world.
Recent research conducted in Palestine suggested that roughly 63 percent of individuals were eager to get vaccinated against COVID-19. Approval, on the other hand, varied depending on the demographic factors studied. Women, married individuals, and people between the ages of 18 and 24 are more prone to get immunization shots. Participants who have a strong understanding of the vaccine, as well as its adverse effects, are also more likely to acquire the vaccine. To reduce COVID-19 illness and death in Palestine, a secure and reliable COVID-19 vaccination must be available. Furthermore, to obtain a decent vaccination rate, health awareness programs and workshops should target people who are unwilling to receive the vaccine, particularly seniors and those who are more vulnerable to the virus's ramifications.
Recently, few positive developments have been made regarding the lack of vaccination rates. Palestine received its largest COVAX shipment to date on December 30, 2021, comprising approximately 453 600 doses of the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine, supported by the German and Italian authorities. The vaccination shots were moved to the West Bank and Gaza Strip's Ministry of Health's vaccine storage facility. More COVAX vaccination units are expected to be delivered to Palestine, encompassing 20% of the population — almost 1 million individuals. According to the national deployment and immunization plan's prioritization criteria, these quantities are for the West Bank and Gaza Strip.
In light of the circumstances, and while Israelis receive their fourth doses, all we can hope for is for the international community to start working upon increasing vaccine doses for Palestinians, in an attempt to lessen the burden of the occupation’s daily sufferings to these people.