Reluctance and distrust define vaccine attitudes in Gaza

Widespread reluctance to get a shot led officials and medics to launch campaign about positive effects of vaccination.

More than five months since the arrival of the first batch of COVID-19 jabs in the Gaza Strip, the vaccine rollout in the besieged coastal enclave has been met with general distrust and, in many cases, outright refusal. According to data from Gaza’s health ministry, some 98,000 people – or just less than five percent of the two million population – have so far received a shot. To date, authorities in the Strip have confirmed more than 115,000 COVID-19 cases and 1,089 deaths. There are currently 43 patients treated in hospital, 34 of whom are in intensive care units (ICU).