MANILA — The Philippines has fully vaccinated at least 22.6 million people against COVID-19, Malacañang said on Thursday, as the country continued to fight one of Asia's worst coronavirus outbreaks.

Authorities have administered a total of 48,390,819 COVID-19 shots as of Wednesday, including around 25.7 million first jabs, said Palace spokesman Harry Roque.

At least 22,657,351 people have been fully vaccinated so far, representing 29.37 percent of government's target, he said in a press briefing.

Herd immunity occurs when a large enough portion of the population is immune to a pathogen, either by vaccination or prior infection, stopping spread of the virus. Health experts have said about 70 percent to 80 percent of the population must be immunized to reach some level of herd immunity, but that figure can vary.

In Metro Manila, the epicenter of the outbreak, 7.4 million of about 13 million residents have been fully vaccinated. They represent 76.7 percent of the target, Roque said.

President Rodrigo Duterte has approved the COVID-19 vaccination of 12 to 17-year-olds and the general adult population this October.

The Philippines has tallied some 2.6 million COVID-19 cases and 38,294 deaths.

— With a report from Reuters

Video courtesy of PTV