Phnom Penh: Prime Minister Hun Sen has approved the rollout of a third booster shot for those people who were fully-inoculated with Sinopharm and Sinovac. The booster shots will first be given to frontline healthcare workers in the border provinces as well as government officials.

AstraZeneca vaccines will be used for the booster shots. The Prime Minister says some doses are in reserve. These will be used first. The AstraZeneca doses being delivered by Japan and the United Kingdom will also be used for booster shots.

The Prime Minister has instructed officials to start procuring other AstraZeneca doses so that booster shots can be administered to all adults who received two shots of the Chinese vaccines. He says these doses can be ordered from individual countries as well as COVAX.

The Prime Minister was speaking at this morning’s launch of the child vaccination program at the Peace Palace. He says children will not need a booster shot but he is considering vaccinations for children under the age of 12 but says he will first wait for approval by the World Health Organisation.