Australia on July 8 handed over a first batch of almost 200,000 paediatric doses of Pfizer Covid-19 vaccine to Cambodia, out of the nearly half million pledged.

A ceremony was held for the handover on the morning of July 8 between Australian ambassador Pablo Kang and Minister of Health Mam Bun Heng upon arrival of the vaccines in Phnom Penh, according to a statement posted on Prime Minister Hun Sen’s Facebook page.

“Australia has handed over 196,800 paediatric doses of Pfizer Covid-19 vaccine to Cambodia, out of a total 482,400, to help prevent a Covid-19 outbreak,” the statement confirmed.

Cambodia has procured nearly 53 million doses of Covid-19 vaccines – through either donations or purchases – with another 20 million in the offing, it said, adding that eight million are currently in stock.