Cambodia begins COVID-19 vaccinations for teenagers
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While Cambodia appeared to have escaped the brunt of the virus last year, an outbreak first detected in February has steadily driven up the caseload to nearly 78,000
Cambodia has started rolling out COVID-19 vaccines for teenagers in its capital Phnom Penh and three provinces Sunday.
Premier Hun Sen's grandchildren were among the first to get the jab.
While Cambodia appeared to have escaped the brunt of the virus last year, an outbreak first detected in February has steadily driven up the caseload to nearly 78,000.
"The vaccination for children today is a key step to herd immunity in communities," said the Cambodian leader.
He added, "Children are like bamboo shoots. If the health of children is damaged now, we won't have good bamboos."
Hun Sen also said that the kingdom is mulling inoculating children aged ten and eleven. Several countries in Europe, including Denmark, France and Lithuania, have begun vaccinating children in a bid to achieve herd immunity.
Cambodia's mass inoculation campaign has so far seen more than seven million people out of the ten million eligible receive the UK-produced AstraZeneca, the US-donated Johnson & Johnson, or the Chinese-made Sinovac and Sinopharm jabs.
Hun Sen said Sunday authorities will also soon begin administering booster shots to adults who are fully vaccinated and will take a page out of neighbouring Thailand's book by mixing vaccine