The country's Covid-19 first booster shot coverage remains low as it only reached 20 percent so far, the Department of Health (DOH) said.
The DOH said that a total of 15,797,385 first booster shots have been administered as of July 21—which is equivalent to 20.23 percent of the total number of people eligible for the first booster dose.
On July 26, the government will launch a nationwide campaign called "PinasLakas!," that aims to provide booster shots to eligible Filipinos and increase the vaccination rate among senior citizens.
DOH Officer-in-Charge Maria Rosario Vergeire said that they are aiming to provide booster shots to at least 23 million Filipinos within the first 100 days of the Marcos administration.
"The DOH will make vaccines more accessible and available in markets, places of worship, malls, transport terminals, offices, factories, plazas, or schools,” said Vergeire last July 20.
A total of 71,439,759 people were already fully vaccinated in the Philippines or those who have completed the first two doses of the Covid-19 vaccines.
The figure represents 91.47 percent of the 78 million target population nationwide.
Meanwhile, there were already 1,146,735 individuals who had received their second booster shots.
To note, the second booster shot is only for senior citizens, health workers and immunocompromised adults. The first booster shot is being given to Filipinos aged 12 years old and above.