Hun Manet, the eldest son of Prime Minister Hun Sen, was the first person in the Kingdom to be inoculated for Covid-19 at Calmette Hospital on the morning of February 10 as the public rollout of Chinese-donated vaccines got underway.

Hun Sen announced the official launch of Cambodia’s public vaccination campaign, attributing it to the Kingdom’s fruitful and cooperative relationship with China.

Prior to receiving the shot, Manet told reporters that he was not scared and thought all people should be vaccinated. Afterward, he offered his appreciation and encouragement.

“Thanks to the doctor who gave me the injection. It was painless, and I feel more confident afterwards knowing that my body’s immune system can protect me,” he said, calling on the public to register for the voluntary campaign.

Ministry of Health secretary of state Yok Sambath was vaccinated after Manet, becoming the first woman in the country to receive it. She said she volunteered for vaccination because her line of work raises her risk of exposure.

“I feel normal. And I call on our nation’s women to be brave and take this vaccine to protect our bodies,” she said, noting it is estimated to be 79 per cent effective.

In a social media post on February 10, Hun Sen wrote: “This is the result of the cooperation between Cambodia and China, who is an ironclad friend, and I would like to thank the party, state, army and people of China, especially President Xi Jinping, for this generous assistance to Cambodia’s people.”

He added that there had been some critical and even abusive comments regarding his declining to be vaccinated due to his age after having assured the public that he would be first. He said, however, that as his son ultimately went first in his stead, it still amounted to a demonstration of the government’s responsibility to the people.

“I would like to send the message to our people, both inside and outside the country, to clearly understand and not worry about the particulars of the vaccine such as its brand or country of origin. Rather, people should worry about not getting vaccinated because there are no vaccines for sale in the market like there are fish for sale,” Hun Sen said.

He said up to 98 per cent of Cambodians living in developed countries have not yet been vaccinated because limited production capacities mean there are not readily available supplies, despite those countries having the resources to buy them.

Another of Hun Sen’s sons and one of his sons-in-law – Hun Manit and Sok Puthyvuth – were also vaccinated on the first day of the campaign. His third son and second son-in-law, Hun Many and Dy Vichea, were ineligible for inoculation on account of separate, ongoing health issues.

In a social media post, Many said: “This morning, I went to Calmette Hospital for a dose of Covid-19 vaccine, but because I currently have flu symptoms, the doctor advised me to wait for two weeks.”

He noted that qualifying high-ranking officials have started getting the shots and praised medical professionals for the high standards with which they performed their duties.

“At the same time, I would like to express my gratitude to the Cambodian government for deciding to provide an opportunity for our young leaders, along with other vulnerable people, to be vaccinated free of charge,” Many wrote, adding that he hoped to receive the vaccine after his condition improved.

Health ministry spokeswoman Or Vandine said on February 10 that before accepting this vaccine, the government had done research to vet its efficacy.

“We have already conducted studies of this vaccine otherwise we would not dare to inject it. But I dare to take it, and I’ve already been vaccinated. We have studied the vaccine and seen that its standards of development and production have been very meticulous at each stage,” she said.

Vandine explained that the ministries of Economy and Finance; Health; and Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation among others were working with development partners like International Cooperation Cambodia to negotiate the purchase of more vaccines in line with plans to vaccinate up to 10 million people.

Health minister Mam Bunheng said after inspecting the four hospitals where vaccination rollouts have begun that government dignitaries, leaders and officials from ministerial institutions, capital and provincial governors and members of the media had participated in large numbers.

“Today’s vaccinations of public officials will serve as a model to build public confidence,” he said.

Four facilities have been set up to distribute vaccinations: Caltmette Hospital for senior national officials, Preah Ang Duong Hospital for mid-ranking national officials, Khmer-Soviet Friendship Hospital for governors and the National Pediatric Hospital for journalists.

Meanwhile, two newly detected cases of Covid-19 among international arrivals have raised the Kingdom’s total number of confirmed cases to 478 by February 10, with 21 patients continuing to receive treatment.