MANILA, Philippines (Updated 2:21 p.m.) — The third leg of the government’s massive COVID-19 vaccination drive will be extended until February 18, the Department of Health said Friday.
The third “Bayanihan Bakunahan” push was initially scheduled on February 10 and 11.
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DOH Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire said 662,318 jabs were administered on the first day of the vaccination activity. Broken down, 442,236 were primary doses and 219,972 were booster shots.
Authorities were aiming to vaccinate 70 million people against COVID-19 by the end of March.
Nearly 60 million people have completed immunization. Meanwhile, only eight million have received booster doses.
The government has vaccinated over 52,000 children aged five to 11 against COVID-19 since the program began in Monday. The DOH said there were only four reported mild reaction following immunization.
Officials said the pediatric vaccination will be expanded to other regions next week.
The Philippines has reported 3.6 million COVID-19 cases since the start of the pandemic, with 54,000 deaths.