Cambodian Deputy Prime Minister and Defense Minister Gen. Tea Banh (L) and Chinese Ambassador to Cambodia Wang Wentian pose for photos after visiting vaccine storage facilities at the Preah Ket Mealea Hospital in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, Feb. 3, 2021. (Photo by Phearum/Xinhua)
"At 8:30 a.m. (local time) on Feb. 10, 2021, vaccinations will officially start at the Calmette Hospital," Cambodian Prime Minister Samdech Techo Hun Sen wrote on his official Facebook page.
PHNOM PENH, Feb. 6 (Xinhua) -- Cambodian Prime Minister Samdech Techo Hun Sen said on Friday that an inoculation drive against COVID-19 will start from Feb. 10 after the first batch of China-donated Sinopharm vaccines is due to arrive in the kingdom on Sunday.
"At 8:30 a.m. (local time) on Feb. 10, 2021, vaccinations will officially start at the Calmette Hospital," he wrote on his official Facebook page.
"This vaccination process will be live broadcast on TVs and social media platforms and after receiving the first shot of the vaccine, I will hold a press conference at the Calmette Hospital," he added.
According to the prime minister, the vaccines will be provided free-of-charge to people who are at a high risk of getting infections such as medics, teachers, bodyguards, armed forces, tuk-tuk and taxi drivers, and garbage collectors, among others.
A staff member checks the packaging quality of COVID-19 inactivated Sinopharm vaccine products at a packaging plant of the Beijing Biological Products Institute Co., Ltd. in Beijing, capital of China, Dec. 25, 2020. (Xinhua/Zhang Yuwei)
He added that the Southeast Asian nation has planned to inoculate between 10 and 13 million people, or about 80 percent of the population.
The Ministry of Health on Thursday authorized the emergency use of Sinopharm COVID-19 vaccine, saying that "the vaccine is used safely in China and other countries."
Cambodia has so far registered a total of 470 confirmed COVID-19 cases, with zero deaths and 452 recoveries, according to the Ministry of Health. ■
