MANILA - The Philippines has administered 117,337,626 doses of coronavirus vaccines nationwide, with 54,423,286 Filipinos already with complete doses.

On Friday, the National Task Force (NTF) Against Covid-19 marked another milestone in the national vaccination program as it hit the 70-percent target for population protection against the virus despite grappling with challenges such as calamities, sudden increase of Covid-19 cases, and the emergence of the Omicron coronavirus variant.

The latest data from National Vaccination Operations Center also showed that 4,403,780 out of the total fully vaccinated individuals have received booster shots or additional doses.

The government will ramp up its goal to 90 million by the first half of the year.

NTF chief Secretary Carlito Galvez earlier said the government will prioritize the inoculation of at least three million unvaccinated senior citizens in the coming weeks.

The vaccine czar said the elderly sector is more prone to hospitalization and death if they remained unvaccinated against Covid-19.

He called on local government units (LGUs) to continue strengthening their vaccination strategies to cover as many Filipinos as possible.

"This current Omicron surge will target the unvaccinated. Sa lahat ng ating mga LGU, gawin natin ang lahat ng ating makakaya para mahikayat ang ating mga mamamayan na magpabakuna na para maka-iwas sa severe cases, pagka-ospital o pagkamatay (To all LGUs, let's do our best to encourage more citizens to get vaccinated to prevent severe cases, hospitalization and death)," Galvez said in a news release on Friday.

He urged LGUs to prioritize the provision of primary doses to the vulnerable sectors, while ramping up the administration of booster shots.

The Philippines has so far received 213,655,520 doses of Covid-19 vaccines from various manufacturers, both procured and donated, since February 2021.

More than 96 million doses are currently in the stockpile.

The mini-rollout for children aged 5 to 11 is tentatively set February 1 to 7. (PNA)