PHNOM PENH, Jan 16, 2021 (BSS/AFP) – China will donate one million doses
of its Sinovac coronavirus vaccine to Cambodia, the kingdom’s strongman
premier Hun Sen has said, thanking “friend” Beijing for its generosity.
Cambodia has long been a staunch ally of Beijing, receiving billions of
dollars in soft loans and investment from China.
While many countries reacted early in the pandemic by closing its borders
to Chinese travellers, Hun Sen refused, and even travelled to Beijing to meet
with leader Xi Jinping in a show of solidarity.
The premier announced late Friday that China has offered to donate shots
made by the firm Sinovac.
“Friend China is helping us with one million doses,” Hun Sun said in an
audio message on his official Facebook page, adding that the doses will
vaccinate 500,000 people.
“To prevent the nation and people from being infected with this deadly
virus, we have to use vaccines that were already used on Chinese leaders and
millions of people… We cannot wait any longer.”
The first people to get the jab would include frontline health workers,
teachers, soldiers, the premier’s bodyguards, and officials around the king,
he said.
Sinovac’s CoronaVac was rolled out in Turkey on Friday, after tests there
showed it to be 91.25 percent effective.
But more robust trials in Brazil demonstrated an efficacy rate of around 50
percent — much lower than those of rival shots from Moderna, Pfizer-BioNTech
and Oxford-AstraZeneca.
A third trial in Indonesia — where authorities this week kicked off a mass
vaccination drive with CoronaVac shots — showed an efficacy of 65.3 percent.
Cambodia has appeared to do well in the pandemic so far, registering just
436 cases, though experts say the low numbers are likely due to a lack of
testing.
Beijing has also offered to help another nation in the region, with Chinese
Foreign Minister Wang Yi promising this week to provide 300,000 doses to
Myanmar.