PHNOM PENH, July 19 (Xinhua) -- Cambodian Prime Minister Samdech Techo Hun Sen said Monday evening that six million Cambodians have received at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine so far.
Pheng Soeun, a 67-year-old farmer in the southeastern Kampong Cham province, was the six millionth person to be vaccinated, the prime minister said, adding that he awarded the woman 10 million riels (2,500 U.S. dollars) and some relief items for being the special recipient.
"To date, Cambodia has provided COVID-19 vaccines to 6 million people, or 60 percent of the 10 million targeted adult population," he wrote on his official Facebook page.
Cambodia began a vaccination drive on Feb. 10, with China being the key vaccine supplier.
The kingdom has three vaccines approved for emergency use so far, namely China's Sinopharm and Sinovac, and Britain's AstraZeneca.
World Health Organization (WHO) representative to Cambodia Li Ailan praised Cambodia for its faster-than-expected vaccination process.
"It is very encouraging that Cambodia's COVID-19 vaccine rollout is progressing well, faster than originally planned. Meanwhile, ongoing efforts are being made to ensure routine childhood immunization services... it is challenging but vital," she wrote on Twitter.
Cambodia logged 790 new COVID-19 cases on Monday, pushing the national total caseload to 67,971, the health ministry said, adding that 22 more fatalities were reported, taking the death toll to 1,128. Enditem
