A woman receives her fifth dose of Covid-19 vaccine at Phnom Penh Referral Hospital in Prampi Makara district on June 9. Heng Chivoan
Ministry of Health spokeswoman Or Vandine has announced that members of the general public can get their fifth dose of Covid-19 vaccine as soon as they are eligible.
Vandine, who is also head of the national Covid-19 vaccination committee, stressed that the jabs are now available for everyone although the current campaign is mainly targeting frontline workers and priority groups.
“Anyone who wishes to get their fifth dose should report to health centres and state-run hospitals across the country,” she said on June 13.
The currently underway fifth-dose vaccination campaign kicked off on June 9. In the first five days of the jab drive, more than 120,000 people received their fifth booster shot, according to the ministry.
Vandine said the committee will continue to instruct vaccination working groups to provide jabs.
“The immune system of some individuals is weakening, so they need to get the booster to increase their resilience,” she said.
It has been more than a month since Cambodia recorded no new cases of the virus, with all Covid-19 patients now discharged from hospital after recovering. Regardless, the general public has been urged to remain vigilant.
Prime Minister Hun Sen, speaking at the June 13 graduation ceremony of the Royal School of Administration, said Cambodia’s successful vaccination campaign had made a huge contribution to the Kingdom’s ability to bring the pandemic under control.
“It has been more than 30 days since Cambodia reported a single new case of Covid-19, but I still call on people to keep their vaccinations up to date. I remind the public of my earlier promise: No matter how many boosters are required, whether the fifth or the twentieth, we will not charge anyone for the vaccine,” he said.
According to the health ministry, as of June 13, Covid-19 vaccinations had reached more than 15 million people, or over 94 per cent of the Kingdom’s estimated population of 16 million. More than 14 million people had received their second dose, more than nine million their third, and 2.8 million their fourth.
