MANILA - Government is eyeing another run of its 3-day vaccination drive on Dec. 15 to 17, Malacañang said Wednesday.

Some 2.55 million individuals were inoculated on Monday, while there is no data yet how many were immunized on Tuesday, according to acting Palace spokesman Karlo Nograles.

Authorities had set a target of vaccinating 3 million daily or a total of 9 million Filipinos during the 3-day event.

"We’re quite optimistic na (that) we will near the target of 3 million. Then there's this final push today. We're considering another round on Dec. 15, 16, 17. The reason for all of this is to add the defense of Omicron and whatever variants there are," he told ANC's Headstart.

The Omicron or B.1.1.529 variant was first detected in South Africa earlier this month and was classified as a variant of concern on Monday.

• How South African scientists spotted the Omicron COVID variant

It has 50 mutations, with 30 in the spike region, which might cause "increased transmissibility and immune evasion" but further studies have to be made, according to the Department of Health.

• WHO rep to Pinoys: Refrain from overreacting, assuming Omicron is here
• Omicron entry in PH a matter of when, not if: Duque

The Philippines has so far fully vaccinated 35.9 million against COVID-19, while 46.3 million have received an initial dose and 233,949 have received a third dose or a booster shot, according to data gathered by the ABS-CBN Investigative and Research Group.

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