2022 may be the ‘The Year Of Omicron’ in Cambodia – MOH

Dr. O Vandin, Secretary of State of the Ministry of Health and Chair of the National Commission for the Prevention of COVID-19 has called on Cambodians to stay vigilant as 2022 could be the year of the new Omicron mutation virus.

Ms Vandin stated that “I believe we can all continue to implement the three preventive measures and the three non-vaccination measures to prevent serious health problems, hospitalizations, and deaths.

I think 2022 will be the year that the new Omicron virus will circulate around the world and in Cambodia.

Therefore, we must be vigilant and be prepared for the rise of this new mutant virus.”

The 3rd and 4th cases of Omicron detected on inbound passengers at Phnom Penh Airport,  have raised fears of an ‘Omicron’ wave sweeping Cambodia – which lags behind with implementation of the 3rd ‘booster’ dose.

Omicron, reported to be highly transmissible and has a higher reinfection rate,  has now spread to around 90 countries worldwide, with Cambodia joining a list of countries including Thailand, Singapore as well as in America, Asia, Europe and Australia.

According to supplied figures, Cambodia has administered around 3 million booster doses – ie only around 17.34% of the population (see below)

Research from the University of Hong Kong (HKU) states that, in most individuals, two doses of BioNtech or Sinovac do not produce sufficient levels of serum antibodies against the new Omicron virus variant.

Source: News Agencies