The national government has surpassed at an impressive speed its target for this month to inoculate 700,000 doses of vaccine against the coronavirus disease (COVID-19).
The feat was achieved on Tuesday night, August 3, with a total of 702,013 doses administered as of 6 p.m., according to a report sent to the Manila Bulletin by Department of Finance (DOF) Secretary Carlos Dominguez III.
According to the report, 233,065 individuals received their first dose while 468,948 others were fully vaccinated after getting their second dose.
In the National Capital Region (NCR), which is considered as the epicenter of the COVID-19 pandemic in the country, a record-breaking 203,062 doses were administered by the local government units (LGUs).
The report said 80,426 residents in Metro Manila obtained their first dose while 122,636 more were fully vaccinated.
According to the report, the data were an update from the previous information released by National Task Force (NTF) Against COVID-19 deputy chief implementer Vince Dizon "with other regions reporting updated figures."
Dizon, in a virtual town hall meeting on Wednesday, described it as "a tremendous accomplishment" in the national vaccination program.
With the updated data, the cumulative total of administered jabs rose to 21,912,142 doses. A total of 12,073,569 individuals had their first dose and 9,838,573 were fully vaccinated.
The numbers are expected to further increase as the government seeks to ramp up the inoculation efforts during the two-week enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) in NCR from August 6 to 20, according to the NTF Against COVID-19.