How to Get a C-19 Vaccine, Cambodia Style

For a small, developing nation with no home-grown vaccine options, Cambodia is doing remarkably well on the Covid-19 vaccination front. At the time of writing – a mere 3 months after the first doses of Sinovac arrived in the country – around 20% of the adult population has received at least one dose of the vaccine. I was privileged enough to receive my first dose of Sinovac a few days ago. Here is my guide for foreigners to being one of the 60,000 people a day to receive a Covid-19 vaccine, Cambodia style.

Note: This is my experience as a foreigner in one specific commune. Exact situations will vary!

1) Wait for Your District to be Eligible
Originally, vaccination was by priority group, with teachers and market workers in Phnom Penh being among the first groups to be called after front-line staff had had their turn. Since lockdown, however, the focus has been on red zones in the capital and other cities with large outbreaks; other areas are now being added in turn based on perceived risk. Although we were never in the red zone, most of our district was originally red and so our area was included in the red zone round of injections.

2) Get an Invitation
No invitation, no vaccine. Phnom Penh is divided into districts, which are subdivided into smaller communes and then into villages. It should be the village chief who gives out the invitations. Except sometimes the village chief does not want to do so for foreigners and will send you to the commune office. And sometimes the commune office will send you back to the village chief. Do not give up until you get an answer. In my case, I went back and forth between the two a few times before finally getting the commune to give me the coveted invitation letter. I didn’t need any paperwork for this step; other foreigners needed their passport, work permit, etc.

3) Be Flexible
Some communes vaccinated foreigners from day 1. Mine originally refused to consider foreigners at all, then decided that there would be a foreigner day on the final scheduled day, Friday 14th. Then someone realised that the 14th was a public holiday, and I received a phone call at 12:40pm on Thursday 13th telling me to get there for 1pm the same day or miss my chance. My husband had the date and location for his second dose changed multiple times Be flexible. Check the situation regularly. Breathe.

4) Go to the Centre
It seems fairly standard to have two shifts starting at 8am and 2pm. Some centres have a limited number of slots in each shift. There have been reports of people queuing outside from 5am, or of those who turned up at 8am being asked to return at 11am to begin queuing for the afternoon. I arrived just before 1pm to find a couple of hundred people in the queue ahead of me. Generally, the first few days are the busiest, and then the last day is a crazy rush of people who left it to the last minute for whatever reason. Whenever you go, be prepared to queue.

5) Be Prepared
You may well have to stand in the sun for a significant amount of time. Cover up and bring plenty of water – but make sure that you don’t need the bathroom! You will also need a blue pen (although an enterprising soul was selling them through the bars in the centre fence at my location), your passport, a photocopy of your passport and, crucially, your invitation. You should also have someone who reads Khmer with you or on video call to help you to fill in the form (which may differ from location to location – my husband’s form was different to mine).

6) Follow the Crowd
Unfortunately, this can mean quite literally – we were not really socially distanced at all for the first hour or so. However, once you get to the organised bit, things should run with military efficiency, especially if you are at a site that is actually being run by the military. Just follow the person in front of you, use the painted markers to socially distance when required, and apologise with a smile if you get it wrong.

7) Do the Process
The exact process may vary at different locations – my husband’s experience was different to mine. These were the steps I had to take:

• Queue
• Begin socially distancing when told.
• Temperature check. If you are too hot, they will either give you a chance to cool down and try again, or spray alcohol in your face to cool you instantly and wave you through.
• Show the invitation letter. Receive a number and a form.
• Fill in the form. Don’t be surprised if you have to repeat the information several times, or if you have to write your full name twice in the same section – Cambodians write in Khmer and then English scripts, but most foreigners just write in English twice. Also, even though both Sinovac and Sinopharm are listed on the form, you don’t get a choice!
• Wait until your number is called. At my centre, they were being called in batches of five. If you are struggling to understand, ask for help from someone nearby, or stick with the person who was in front of you in the queue.
• Queue again.
• Hand over the form to be checked and wait for your name to be called. At this point, they should complete the type of vaccine and the date of your second dose.
• Take the form and queue to give your thumb print where required. Hand over the form, but keep the part that is returned to you.
• Queue again.
• Get vaccinated. Woo! They will give it in your right arm. Selfies are optional.
• Queue again.
• Have your name written on a list and a time written on your form. Check that they have spelled your name correctly.
• Queue again.
• Have your photograph taken, along with a photograph of your form and a photograph of the photocopy of your passport (they refused to photograph my actual passport).
• Wait until you are allowed to go – approximately 15 minutes, although at my centre they were opening the gate for people in batches.
• Make sure that you keep the form safe until the second dose. You may receive a card at this point, too, but it is more likely that you will get it with your second dose.
• Go home. Do not get the injection site wet for 12 hours or scratch at it. For the next few days, do not carry anything heavy, drink alcohol, eat seafood or work too hard.
• Congratulations, you have received your first dose!

8) Stay Positive
It will be long, and hot, and at points confusing. You may have suffered the frustration of fruitlessly asking to be registered multiple times before getting to this point. You may have had security guards shouting “No, no, no!” in your face, or people complaining very loudly that foreigners shouldn’t be given the injection as Khmer should have priority. But, actually, most people will want to help, the actual process on the day is well-organised, and the majority of Cambodians understand that – if this is to work – everyone who can be vaccinated needs to be. Also, all of the military and medical personnel that I met were lovely and guided me through the machine with smiles and positive words despite the fact that I was number 342 for the day and there were at least another 100 people behind me. Keep smiling, speak some Khmer (even if you can only say hello and thank you!) and dig deep into your patience reserves.

9) Pay Close Attention to Second Vaccination Dates and Locations
These are always subject to change.

10) Be Thankful
Whilst developed countries are battling anti-vaxxers, anti-maskers and vaccine shortages, and many developing countries are struggling to even vaccinate key workers, Cambodia is doing an amazing job of obtaining vaccinations, targeting priority locations and groups, responding to an ever-changing situation and ensuring public compliance with safety rules. The WHO has now approved the Sinopharm vaccine and is expected to decide on Sinovac soon, and public opinion towards vaccination is generally positive. There is plenty that is not perfect in Cambodia’s Covid response, but the same is true of every country, and I, for one, am still thankful to be here.