MANILA (UPDATED) - The Philippines on Thursday began another round of national COVID-19 vaccination days, which allows house-to-house inoculation and makes jabs available in doctors' clinics and workplace health facilities.

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The campaign aims to administer second doses for the elderly, first jabs for those aged 12 to 17, and booster shots for adults, said Health Secretary Francisco Duque.

Government aims to inoculate 1.8 million individuals during the 3-day vaccination drive and a total of 90 million Filipinos by June.

"So far so good, nandito nga ako sa Philippine Medical Association (PMA)... nandito kami ngayon at nag-umpisa na ang vaccination para sa ating mamamayan," Duque said in a televised briefing.

(So far so good. I'm here at the Philippine Medical Association... We're here and the vaccination has started.)

"Ang inaasahan natin ay makakadagdag ito, mas malapit na nating maabot ang ating 80 percent of Philippine population, 90 million Filipinos na target natin kasi ngayon nasa 71 percent pa lang tayo, ang ating vaccination coverage."

(We're hoping this would add more vaccinated individuals to our target of 80 percent of the Philippine population or 90 million Filipinos because right now, we are only at 71 percent, our vaccination coverage.)

The 1.8 million vaccination target is broken down as follows: 585,000 second dose, 524,000 jabs for the elderly, and 768,000 booster shots, according to Health Undersecretary Myrna Cabotaje, head of the National Vaccination Operations Center.

Doctors' clinics eligible to administer COVID-19 vaccines in Metro Manila, Central Luzon, and southern Luzon are registered with the health department and local governments, said PMA president Benito Atienza. More regions have expressed willingness to participate, he said.

Meanwhile, the vaccination of children ages 5 to 11 and 12 to 17 will be conducted in hospitals as these have cold storage capacity, Atienza said.

It is important for the public to get vaccinated and receive their booster shots as the country reopens, the election season begins, and as the Holy Week celebration nears, Cabotaje said.

"There are many activities happening, while the cases are going down wag po tayo maging kampante (let's not be complacent)," she told reporters.

Only 10.5 million out of 63.6 million fully vaccinated individuals have received their booster shots as of March 5, according to data gathered by the ABS-CBN Investigative and Research Group.

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The running figures of the nationwide vaccination drive are expected to come in Friday, Cabotaje said.

--With reports from Gillan Ropero and Job Manahan, ABS-CBN News

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Video courtesy of PTV