Prime Minister Samdech Akka Moha Sena Padei Techo Hun Sen said that Cambodia will use the UK-donated AstraZeneca vaccines in the third dose or booster dose vaccination campaign in the country.
“I would like to emphasise that the AstraZeneca vaccine, which is a valuable humanitarian donation from the Government and people of the United Kingdom, will be used in the Third Dose or Booster Dose Vaccination Campaign,” Samdech Techo Hun Sen said at the handover ceremony of UK-donated 415,000 doses of AstraZeneca vaccine at Phnom Penh International Airport this afternoon.
The Premier also requested the United Kingdom to continue to provide humanitarian assistances in the form of vaccines, as well as to facilitate Cambodia in ordering additional AstraZeneca vaccines to meet future needs.
Samdech Techo Hun Sen extended his warm welcome and gratitude to the Government and people of the United Kingdom, for donating 415,000 doses of AstraZeneca vaccine to the Government and people of Cambodia. “This humanitarian assistance is a precious and generous deed to help each other amid this difficult time, in which vaccines have become a key strategic goods in high demand in the battle against the COVID-19 pandemic all over the world,” he stressed.
The Royal Government of Cambodia (RGC) will continue to fight against COVID-19, as the current outlook is full of uncertainties as the COVID-19 virus has continuously evolved and mutated into new variants, especially the Delta variant, that has been spreading rapidly in other countries, as well as in Cambodia, he said.
According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), vaccines can indeed provide protection against COVID-19, including the new Delta variant.
Realising this important benefit, Samdech Techo Prime Minister continued, the RGC has been trying to obtain vaccines through existing bilateral or multilateral mechanisms in the form of humanitarian assistances or direct orders. Ensuring a sufficient and timely supply of vaccines as planned has allowed the RGC to launch the COVID-19 National Vaccination Campaign from Feb. 10, 2021 with a good progress through the “Blossom” Approach.
With clear and realistic arrivals of vaccines through all available mechanisms, on Aug. 1, the RGC has decided to take a further step by launching the Vaccination Campaign for Children-Youths Aged 12 to Under 18, with an additional total population of another 2 million, he said, adding that at the same time, the RGC has decided to launch the Third Dose or Booster Dose Vaccination Campaign for frontline public officials serving in provinces along the Cambodia-Thailand border, where the Delta variant is spreading.
Taking this opportunity, Samdech Techo Hun Sen called on all Cambodian citizens to actively and fully cooperate with the RGC in the fight against COVID-19 by implementing and strictly adhering to health measures, especially the “3-Dos and 3-Don’ts” rule, as well as participating in the COVID-19 National Vaccination Campaign to protect the safety, health, as well as the well-being of our families, communities and society as a whole.
With the newly arrived vaccines, Cambodia has now almost 21 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines in stock through purchases and donations: 7.2 million doses of Sinopharm, 11.5 million doses of Sinovac, 1,071,000 doses of AstraZeneca, and 1,064,600 doses of Johnson & Johnson.
As of Aug. 4, for the target of 10-million adults, 7,541,869 people have got their first jab, or 75.42 percent, among them 5,160,029 have been fully vaccinated.
For the children-youth aged 12 to under 18, whose vaccination campaign began last Sunday, 163,113 or 8.29 percent of the two-million target have received their first dose.
