Prime Minister Hun Sen delivered 10 vaccine transport vans to the Ministry of National Defence and plans to provide the same type of vehicles to Phnom Penh and all 24 provinces.

On July 5, Ministry of Health spokeswoman Or Vandine delivered the vans to defence ministry secretary of state Neang Phat, noting that the vans were able to transport vaccines at a temperature of -24 degrees Celsius.

“After delivering these vans to the defence ministry, we will deliver them to medical personnel across the country so that Covid-19 vaccination teams can use them to carry out our strategy to vaccinate all people,” she said.

She added that civilian medical teams will also be receiving these vans, but army medics were already actively vaccinating people so the vans were delivered to them first.

Hun Sen decided that provinces with higher populations would receive two vans, while those with lower populations would receive one each.

Thus, Vandine continued, Banteay Meanchey, Battambang, Kampong Cham, Kampong Thom, Kampong Speu, Kampot, Kandal, Prey Veng, Siem Reap, Svay Rieng, Takeo and Tbong Khmum provinces will receive two vans each.

Phnom Penh and the provinces of Kampong Chhnang, Koh Kong, Kratie, Mondulkiri, Preah Vihear, Pursat, Ratanakkiri, Preah Sihanouk, Stung Treng, Oddar Meanchey, Kep and Pailin will receive one van each.

She said there are some additional vans left over to be used by the national immunisation programme run by the health ministry.

She said on July 4 that the vaccination plans were now completed by the relevant teams, pending the vaccine arrival when they will move ahead as planned as the jab drive is moving ahead faster than previously thought possible.

She also said the vaccination programmes are starting out in downtown areas because there had been outbreaks there.

“Samdech Techo Hun Sen provided vaccinations to people in downtown areas in Poipet town where many people exit and enter. At the same time, Samdech also allowed health workers to vaccinate Cambodian vendors in markets bordering Thailand,” Vandine said using the prime minister’s royal title.

Banteay Meanchey provincial authorities are also seeking to vaccinate people in Poipet town and the vaccination commission provided vaccines to some provinces – Kampong Cham, Tbong Khmum, Pursat , Kampong Chhnang, Takeo, Svay Rieng, Kampong Speu and Koh Kong.

“If five million doses of vaccines arrive as planned in this month of July and another four million doses touch down in August, our goal of vaccinating 10 million people can be achieved by October or November. But I think that we will have enough [vaccines] by October,” Vandine added.

In regard to vaccinating vendors in Rong Kluea Market on the Thai side of the border, Banteay Meanchey provincial governor Um Reatrey said the provincial administration had begun doing so on July 5.

Reatrey also requested that the provincial governor of Sa Kaeo province in Thailand vaccinate vendors against Covid-19 in the market.

Banteay Meanchey provincial administration spokesman Sek Sokhom said the vaccinations for Rong Khluea Market vendors will be administered at Poipet town where most of them reside.

“There are 12 locations providing vaccinations at their villages and the majority of them are vendors in Thailand. Sa Kaeo and Banteay Meanchey authorities are finding ways to provide jabs for every vendor of Rong Kluea Market,” he said.

He added that the border checkpoints remain closed and they are banned from accessing the market, so if they manage to somehow get to the market they must then undergo quarantine in Thailand.

“We could not bring vaccines to Thailand for them,” he said.

As of July 4, Cambodia had vaccinated more than 4.5 million people, completing 45.36 per cent of the targeted 10 million.

The Kingdom will receive more vaccines this month from Chinese pharmaceutical companies Sinopharm and Sinovac – one million doses on July 6 and another four million on July 10.

Then in August, Cambodia expects to receive another four million doses, all of them from China.