Get Your Next Vaccine Dose, PM Urges Public
A five-year-old boy receives his first dose of China's Sinovac COVID-19 vaccine at an inoculation site in Phnom Penh Nov. 1, 2021. Photo by Sovannara/Xinhua
- By Meng Seavmey
- December 30, 2022 2:51 PM
PHNOM PENH – Children aged three to under five will be able to get their fourth COVID-19 vaccine dose, Prime Minister Hun Sen has announced.
Those from five to 12 will get their fifth dose, while the public and officials are to get their sixth.
Hun Sen said he had approved the National Committee for Combating Covid-19 vaccination drive to give protection against the virus while building immunity as variants spread.
“We’d better be safe than sorry. It is necessary to have the immunity in our body to counter the virus of COVID-19 which is still present in our country and the region,” he said on Dec. 30 at the inauguration of the upgrade of the National Road No. 31 and No. 33 in Kep province.
The PM urged everyone to get their next dose when it is due. People should get vaccinated regularly because the effectiveness of the vaccines wears off.
“For instance, if you get the fourth dose right now, then you’ll have to get the fifth dose six months later,” he said. Continuing to do so reduced the risk.
Hun Sen said some people have had a sixth dose but had yet to register because the government had not announced it yet, but as of now, they can.
He expressed worry as some were still to get their third dose. Some parents had asked if their children aged 3-5 could get the fourth dose and this was possible now.
According to the report of the Health Ministry on Dec. 29, the number of people over 18 getting vaccinated reached 103.81% of the 10 million target and that of children from 12 to under 18 reached 101.21% of the 1.82 million target.
The number of 6-12s reached 110.41% while 3-5s reached 79.77%. More than 95% of the 16 million population have been vaccinated.
