KRATIE: The Secretary of State of the Ministry of Health and Chairperson of the Covid-19 Vaccination Commission has introduced a mobile team of doctors to vaccinate people, especially those who have difficulty traveling to vaccination sites.

While inspecting the vaccination process in Kratie province on Tuesday, the Secretary of State of the Ministry of Health and the Chairperson of the Covid-19 Vaccination Commission, Or Vandine, instructed the provincial administration to organize a mobile medical team to administer vaccines on the ground, in addition to the preexisting permanent vaccination site, to encourage locals to get vaccinated

The purpose of organizing a mobile medical team to administer vaccines is to be able to reach those who have difficulty or are unable to travel to established vaccination sites, which will help to make the vaccines more accessible and increase the vaccination rate in the total population.

The Secretary of State also shared her observation that everyone actively went out to get the two basic doses of the Covid-19 vaccination on their own because they were afraid of the pandemic and wanted to get vaccinated as soon as possible to feel more protected. However, she added that now, due to the good governance of the Royal Government of Cambodia which allowed for the Covid-19 outbreak to be largely controlled in the country, many appear to have forgotten about getting the booster doses, since they do not have the same sense of risk anymore and have confidence in just the basic doses.

She added, "The important thing is that they always thought it was okay, and some people thought that they had been vaccinated, but they did not understand if the second, third or fourth dose was required. They just knew they had been vaccinated, so they seemed to think that there was no need to be vaccinated again."

She continued that some people have not yet gotten vaccinated because they were too busy with their businesses or had difficulty in traveling to vaccination sites, so to solve that problem, she has instructed for the arrangement of a mobile vaccination team to bring the vaccines to the local people. She further urged people to get vaccinated to increase community protection against Covid-19, especially the new Omicron variant, which is currently spreading around the world.

Secretary of State Or Vandine continued that in order for this process to run smoothly and clearly, local authorities must be prepared to trust the people involved in the vaccination work, to know exactly how many doses have already been administered and the exact deadlines for vaccination. Therefore, she said that doctors and local authorities must work together to find the number of people who have not yet been vaccinated and to set a date to arrange a team of doctors to bring the vaccination to them.

In addition to speeding up the vaccination process, she recommended that doctors, along with local authorities, increase public awareness on the development of the Covid-19 pandemic in the country, as well as the preventive measures required for citizens to continue protecting themselves from illness while living in the new normal.

As of Tuesday, 8 February, 89.79% of the total 16 million population of Cambodia has been fully vaccinated. Additionally, 5,817,110 people have received the third dose, and 513,033 people have received the fourth dose.