To infuse confidence in the people, Lieutenant General Hun Manet, the Royal Cambodian Armed Forces Deputy Commander-in-Chief, yesterday took the first shot of the Sinopharm vaccine from China at Calmette Hospital.

Kicking off the vaccination drive in the Kingdom, Lt Gen Manet called on the people to protect themselves against the COVID-19 virus by taking the jab which is safe.

“The people of Cambodia are grateful for the vaccine, Sinopharm, which has been donated to us by our China friends. I also thank the government for taking all the possible efforts and means to get the vaccines to inoculate the people,” he added.

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Lt Gen Manet said that his siblings have also been vaccinated and all this was made possible by the government which cares for the safety and welfare of Cambodians.

He urged Cambodians to stand in solidarity with the government to fight against COVID-19 and its challenges by adhering to the health measures and vaccinating against the virus in accordance with the government’s plan.

“We need to protect ourselves, our families and our society in this difficult situation. Injecting the vaccine is our protection against the COVID-19 virus,” he added.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Hun Sen on his Facebook page yesterday urged the people to take the Sinopharm vaccine and not to worry unduly about which brand of vaccine they take as their main concern should be to protect themselves against the virus.

He added that the people cannot be choosers as there is not much vaccine for sale in the market with all countries wanting to get the vaccines for their citizens.

Mr Hun Sen made this remark after the Kingdom marked its start of vaccinating people against the COVID-19 virus yesterday, following the arrival of the first batch of 600,000 vaccine doses from China on Sunday.

The vaccinations are currently for priority groups including journalists being administered at four centres in the capital namely Calmette Hospital, Ang Duong Hospital, Khmer Soviet Friendship Hospital and National Pediatric Hospital.

Mr Hun Sen said: “I would like to send a message to our compatriots, both inside and outside the country, that you should not worry about from which country is the vaccine or the brand, but rather on not getting enough for people to get vaccinated.  This is because there are no vaccines put on sale in the market like fish.”

A large number of Cambodians, or up to 98 percent, living in developed countries have not yet been vaccinated because there is no vaccine; even though the country has money, it cannot access the vaccine due to the lack of production, the Prime Minister explained.

Mr Hun Sen that the Chinese government has promised to donate one million doses of COVID-19 vaccine to Cambodia, of which 600,000 doses were delivered on Sunday and another 400,000 doses are set to be delivered anytime in the future.

Saying that Cambodia and China are ‘iron-clad friends’, the Premier said the acquisition of the vaccines was the fruit of their cooperation and bilateral relationship.

“I know there were some quarters who made comments on me not taking the vaccination today due to my age and they hurled some inappropriate words against me. But my son got vaccinated instead of the father, that confirms our responsibility to our compatriots,” he added.

According to Or Vandine, a spokeswoman for the Ministry of Health, within two hours of the vaccination campaign at Calmette Hospital, some 58 government officials were injected with the Sinopharm dose.

Vandine appealed to all those who took the vaccine doses to abstain from drinking alcohol as it may make the vaccine ineffective.

“I think that those who volunteered to be vaccinated against COVID-19 should not drink alcohol or drink beer until they take their second dose,” she added.

She said that she studied the vaccine before getting injected today.

“I got myself injected and I am doing fine,” she said, adding that the Sinopharm vaccine has been used  extensively to inoculate people in China.

Vandine said the government together with the Ministries of Economy,  Health, and Foreign Affairs were in the midst of negotiating to buy more vaccines with plans to vaccinate at least 10 million Cambodians.

Chhor Bunpaul, chief of Pulmonology at Calmette Hospital, said a few dignitaries and senior government officials could not be vaccinated yesterday due to them having flu and asthmatic problems and a few listed for the inoculation did not turn up due to being hospitalised and other reasons.

Overall, he added, the response for taking the jab was good and they intend to give those who were sick on a later date.

Minister of Defence General Tea Banh said all military officers and soldiers will receive COVID-19 vaccine, as they are the frontliners who work hard to curb the spread of the disease in Cambodia.

Gen Banh made this remark in a press conference at Preah Ket Mealea Hospital, where the senior military officers were receiving the first shots of Sinopharm’s COVID-19 vaccine as the nation launched its vaccination drive.

“The military officers and soldiers are among the people facing the highest risk as they have been assigned to work at the borders where they are at risk of getting infected, especially while protecting the borders where they come in contact with migrant workers or transporting migrant workers who cross over from neighbouring countries to quarantine centres,” he said.

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He added that the ministry is now studying the pace and the capacity to roll out the vaccine to the armed forces.

“If we have extra vaccines, we will also vaccinate the soldiers’ families,” he said. “But, now, we have to focus on the army first, especially the senior officers and the soldiers and police who are protecting the borders.”

Gen Banh said that he and some senior officials of the ministry, including his sons, were injected with the Sinopharm vaccine some 20 days ago by the Chinese doctors stationed at Preah Ket Mealea Hospital.

“I had to take the vaccine before reporting to Samdech Techo Prime Minister,” said Gen Banh, who is 75 year old, adding that he has not suffered from any side effects or health problems since receiving the jab.

Hun Many, a young lawmaker from the Cambodian People’s Party and President of the Union of Youth Federations of Cambodia, said China’s assistance with COVID-19 vaccines is a testament to their long and deep friendship beyond all strategic levels.

He also said, so far, the vaccine has been tested in the third phase, which has been conducted on 60,000 volunteers of 125 different nationalities. As of today, Sinopharm  vaccine has been approved under the auspices of the Chinese National Medical and Pharmaceutical Agency.

“Although some people (yesterday morning) did not qualify for the vaccination, some of our leaders became the first volunteers to receive the vaccine. Receiving this vaccine is a testament to the effectiveness and reliability of the Chinese friend’s vaccine, which has been researched, manufactured and tested to be a viable product,” said Many.

Additional reporting by Taing Rinith.