A total of 455,130 doses of government-procured Pfizer coronavirus vaccine for adults arrived Thursday night, adding to the inventory of over 223 million life-saving doses the Philippines started receiving since February last year.

National Task Force (NTF) Against Covid-19 consultant Ma. Paz Corrales, who was among those who welcomed the latest vaccine shipment, said over 2.6 million or more than half of the target five million shots have been administered during the third “Bayanihan, Bakunahan” national vaccination drive that began on February 10.

The vaccination drive has been extended until Friday, February 18, from the original two-day schedule.

Corrales also reported that 263,000 doses of the reformulated Pfizer vaccine have been administered to minors aged 5 to 11. About 65 percent of the target younger population (12 to 17 years old) are now fully vaccinated, Corrales added.

“We call on parents to have their children inoculated against Covid-19. This is necessary as we prepare for face-to-face classes, and for the reopening of the economy,” Corrales said, thanking the US government for its help in facilitating the delivery of the vaccines.

The latest Pfizer vaccine was procured by the national government through the World Bank.

On Friday night (February 18), 1,432,080 doses of Pfizer vaccine donated by the Australian government through Unicef are expected to arrive.

Data from the NTF show that a total of 132,013,140 vaccine doses have been administered as of February 18. Of this number, 61,626,201 are fully vaccinated. (PNA)