The government targets to complete the administration of two Covid-19 primary doses to at least 70 million Filipinos by March 31.

Dr. Ted Herbosa, the special medical adviser of the National Task Force (NTF) against Covid-19, said fully vaccinating at least 70 million individuals is crucial to achieving population protection in the entire country, complementing the government’s exit plan to the pandemic.

“So very important maabot natin by March 31 iyong 70 million or 70 percent ng ating population para fully vaccinated (It is very important to fully vaccinate 70 million or 70 percent of our total population),” Herbosa said in a virtual interview over the Laging Handa briefing aired over state-run PTV news channel.

The government on Thursday started the third “Bayanihan, Bakunahan” massive vaccination drive to simultaneously inoculate at least five million Filipinos nationwide, until Friday.

Herbosa reiterated that the initiative aims to capacitate the local government units (LGUs) that are still lagging in their vaccination drive, including the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM).

The Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR), Caraga region, Mimaropa, Soccsargen, the Zamboanga Peninsula, Eastern Visayas, the Bicol Region, and Central Visayas have likewise vaccinated below 70 percent of their total population, based on the data from the National Vaccination Operations Center, as of January 23.

So far, a total of 59,899,717 Filipinos are now fully vaccinated against Covid-19, including those who received single-dose Janssen vaccine and Sputnik Light jabs.

Of the total fully vaccinated individuals, 8,011,994 of them got booster doses. (PNA)