MANILA - The Philippines has administered over 11.7 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines as of Sunday, the Department of Health said.

The latest figure is up by nearly 700,000 from the total doses given as of just three days earlier, or July 1.

"The total doses administered in the 18th week of our national vaccination reached a record high of 1,778,989 doses," the DOH said. The vaccine rollout started last March 1.

As of July 4, a total of 11,708,029 doses of the anti-virus jabs have been administered in the country. Of the figure, 8,839,124 were given as first dose, while 2,868,905 were second doses.

Those who have received two doses are considered fully vaccinated.

The Philippines has been administering the vaccine candidates of American firms Pfizer and Moderna, Russia's Gamaleya Institute, China's Sinovac, and Britain's AstraZeneca.

"The government is urging eligible populations belonging to priority groups A1 to A5 to register with their local government units, get vaccinated, and complete the required number of doses as scheduled," the DOH said in a statement.

"Regardless of vaccination status, everyone is urged to continue practicing the minimum public health standards as you may still get infected with COVID-19 and infect other people," it added.

According to the ABS-CBN Investigative and Research Group, the number of those fully vaccinated against the disease represent 4.95 percent of the government's target by year-end.

The Philippines aims to inoculate at least 58 million this year to achieve population protection.

Population protection means immunizing a huge part of the priority sectors to prevent deaths and hospitalization from COVID-19.

This is different from herd immunity, where the goal is "continuous" protection from the virus, which may include booster shots, among other things, amid the presence of variants.

Since the pandemic began, the Philippines recorded more than 1.4 million coronavirus infections -- the second highest COVID-19 tally in Southeast Asia. So far, some 25,000 people have died from the illness.

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