PHNOM PENH, Sept 21 (NNN-AKP) – Cambodia administered at least one dose of COVID-19 vaccines to 12.05 million people, or 75.3 percent of the kingdom’s 16-million population, raising hope for a return to normal life in the near future, officials and experts said yesterday.
Of them, 10.3 million, or 64.4 percent, have been fully vaccinated with both required shots, and 830,814, or 5.2 percent, have received a booster dose, health ministry’s secretary of state and spokeswoman, Or Vandine, said in a report.
“As of Sept 19, some 98.27 percent of 10 million target adults, 88 percent of nearly two million target adolescents, aged from 12 to under 18, and 25.94 percent of almost 1.9 million target children aged from six to under 12, have taken at least one vaccine dose.”
The Southeast Asian nation launched a COVID-19 vaccination drive in Feb, with China being the key vaccine supplier.
Cambodian Prime Minister, Samdech Techo Hun Sen, said, Chinese vaccines helped Cambodia to develop herd immunity, reducing infections, hospitalisations and fatalities.
“If there were no vaccine supplies from China, so far, Cambodia could have vaccinated only two million people at most,” he said, during the handover ceremony of the China-aided Morodok Techo National Stadium in Phnom Penh, on Sept 12.
World Health Organisation (WHO) representative to Cambodia, Li Ailan said, to date, Cambodia has successfully received 29.6 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines from three sources, through bilateral procurement, COVAX Facility, and donations.
She said, a total of 22.5 million doses, or 76 percent, were Sinovac and Sinopharm vaccines, procured from China, and 4.3 million doses, equivalent of 14.5 percent, were donated by China to Cambodia.– NNN-AKP
